Mass Effect : It's not over yet
by Revan of Eorl
Summary: My take on the ME3 ending - shepley ship.
1. Chapter 1  Survivor?

Mass Effect: It's not over yet

This is my take on the end of Mass Effect 3, the Shepard in my story is male with Ashley LI, I'm ignoring parts of the official ending such as the Normandy crash landing as they didn't make sense to me . Constructive criticism always welcomed and appreciated, all IP connected to the Mass Effect universe belong to Bioware and EA.

Prologue:

There was another flash of light in the corner of his eye as a shining crimson beam enveloped another ship; Shepard winced as an Alliance cruiser suffered violent decompressions of escaping gases culminating in explosions as it began to break apart. He dimly recalled that around 900 people served aboard a cruiser type vessel…. More wasted lives in this pointless war against the machines…. these Reapers.

He stared weakly again trying to take in what this… thing in child form was trying to tell him but was hard to absorb it made no sense, he struggled to stand straight "so your telling me… all of this death and destruction is to stop synthetics from killing us and this seems logical to you?" Shepard looked at the hologram of the child before him "this is crazy…. We have united the Geth and the Quarians they are here together helping us fight off your creations. There is no justification for genocide no matter the reasons".

The ghostly image seemed to pause before replying with the same concept he had already uttered 'The created will always rebel against their creators, you must choose'. Shepard staggered closer; his head was throbbing as if a thousand different voices were talking to him an almost inaudible murmur. He tried to concentrate to cut through the murkiness of the whispers; he spoke softly under his breath 'Shepard, Staff Commander – Alliance Naval Marine Corp, N7-442367AE.

An old technique as he struggled to summon his thoughts, he recalled the first time he had met a reaper part of the reaper vanguard – Sovereign 'I am beyond your comprehension...I am Sovereign...in the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are...organic life is simply a genetic mutation, an accident...you wither and die. We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution and existence...we are the end of everything'. This does not seem to match what this machine was now telling him and that should make him on edge even angry but the voices in the background seemed to calm him even accept that he must make a choice.

He again repeated his name, rank and serial number to try and focus... 'No' he said loudly 'if you control the reapers and the citadel why did you not open the relay to the dark space all those years ago when I fought against Saren, the heretic Geth and Sovereign'. The form of the child he saw on Earth many months ago stared back at him 'you would not comprehend... choose. Control us and send us away, evolve all life or destroy all synthetics. ' The child raised a finger to Shepard and the whispers raised to fevered shouting 'Choose Shepard' over and over again. A wave of despair rushed through Shepard as he felt his resolve weakening, everything seemed to make sense he just had to choose and he staggered forward towards the conduits and the font of energy before him.

He wearily came to the crossroads, the time to choose and Shepard paused, the cloud of the voices lifting just for a moment and one familiar voice seemed to come through over all others 'You cannot escape your destiny, Shepard'. The remark cut right through him... it couldn't be, he glanced back at the catalyst and for one split second could see a flash of four golden lights. Dread seemed to diffuse into his body... he was being played, his head started to get foggy again.

He tried to recall the theory and facts behind indoctrination, his nostrils flared as panic started to set in... he did not let it. 'Shepard, Staff Commander – Alliance Naval Marine Corp, N7-442367AE ... his mind flashed with images of the people he was leaving behind. He saw his squadmates both past and present, 'Sorry Garrus it looks like I will be waiting for you after all' he whispered, he then saw a slim woman in blue armor with long dark hair and hazel eyes... 'Ash' he sighed as his mind flashed back to his memories of the Spectre called Ashley Williams. Gunfire from two Geth soldiers as the then Gunnery Chief Williams dived into cover, so many conversations in the armory as they bonded and exchanged life stories, gentle flirting that turned into something more, Ilos, Horizon, Mars, Citadel, Normandy and their last few minutes together on Earth. The good and the bad... he was glad they managed to reconnect, Ashley was the only woman he had truly loved – 'She won't forgive me for leaving her again'.

He stood up straight, he looked down wondering why his wound that was bleeding so heavily so recently no longer hurt... hell he could not even see the gunshot. His head seemed to stay clear as long as he kept the memories in his head replaying in his mind; He looked at the energy conduit to his right the one that could destroy the reapers, he suddenly had a vision of Anderson shooting the energy conduit. The reaper child now appeared close to him, Shepard looked at him in the eyes 'I know who you are reaper' he stated unflinchingly 'Impressive Shepard' stated the catalyst all pretence now flown aside 'I am still the harbinger of your ascendance' maintained a now metallic voice 'We are Harbinger, you cannot stop us Shepard; your mind and everything that you are belongs to us. Your last petty act of rebellion merely delays the inevitable'.

Shepard gasped as an intense pressure enveloped his cranium, he struggled to draw breath... with one last ounce of strength he let the memories of Ashley flow through him and activated his omni-tool the blade locked into place and he through every last bit of his strength into thrusting it into the head of the avatar of Harbinger, he did not know if this was all in his head or really standing at the top of the citadel but it seemed to have an effect as harbinger staggered back. Shepard took his opening and took fast strides up the right side platform pulling out his gun, lining up his shot and shooting the energy conduit.

As each bullet hit the panel he seemed to be in a different place, he saw Anderson talking to the illusive man in the chamber below but wasn't he already dead. As more bullets hit the chamber he saw Anderson break hold of the grip he was in and shot the Illusive man with his pistol and opened the citadel arms... is this what is really happening Shepard thought, 'no time for that now' as he stepped in closer and started to shoot at point blank range.

Just before everything went black, he thought he could see the crucible docking and firing some sort of energy beam and then the cold night sky of London.

Chapter One: Survivor?

Earth – Milky Way / Local Cluster / Sol system, The capital planet of the Earth Systems Alliance and since the Reapers had finished with the Batarians ground zero for the invasion of the galaxy. The home planet of John Shepard the first human spectre, hero of the citadel and conqueror of the Collectors – the man who united the galaxy into a fighting force to repel the reapers, the man who was now Missing in action following the last ditch attempt of the allied forces to use their super weapon.

The crucible had fired courtesy of Admiral Anderson's last push through the transport beam after Harbinger has been distracted by means unknown and managed to deploy the crucible at the cost of his own life; destroying the reaper fleet but it also took down the relay network – there were now fleets of stranded starships in the sol system who were for now helping alliance in tallying the dead and damage on Earth as well as trying to repair the Citadel to use as their home.

Location – London , Capital city of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, one of the first signatories to the Earth Systems Alliance parliament and one of the first cities to be hit by the reapers. Death and destruction were the reaper's legacy on this ancient city as far as the eye could see nothing but rubble and reaper corpses. Battalions of Alliance marines, Asari commandos and Krogan warriors were still out in force as the machine intelligences may have been dead but the indoctrinated forces were still in play – very confused due to the lack of orders but still intent on carrying out their last one, kill all organics.

Just north of Big Ben amidst the destruction of Westminster a green zone had been established which was coordinating all search and rescue units of civilians and MIA soldiers along with cataloging the dead.

Admiral Hackett supreme commander of the alliance forces walked into the command marquis 'Sitrep' he barked 'very little change sir' came the crisp tones of Major Coates 'we are finding more and more corpses which we are attempting to identify from DNA records so far no sign of Commander Shepard alive or dead Admiral but we are making progress on clearing out what's left of the reaper forces' he paused as trying to find the right way to broach the subject 'Sir we know that Admiral Anderson was the only one to make it to the citadel and that Hammer forces were wiped out on the frontal assault last night, it is looking less than likely that Shepard survived'.

'Don't be so sure Major, Shepard is one tough son of a bitch' Hackett replied with one eye at the corner of the room where he could see some of the Normandy crew liaising with S&R teams, he moved closer to Coates 'You look like hell Major, you were in combat less than 6 hours ago you should take a break', Coates stifled a yawn 'Shepard's squad is still out there looking Sir and they saw more combat than I did' he paused again as he ran his hands through his scratchy beard ' Admiral, Commander Williams is pushing all of us hard to move the rubble around the conduit beam faster I don't think she is going to give up the search until we find him, my attempt to pull rank and get her to take a break did not go down too well'.

Hackett hesitated not wanting to divulge too many details that he suspected was true of Commanders Shepard and William's relationship 'Commander Williams was part of Shepard's original crew and they have a tight friendship, cut her slack Major and I will see if we can get some more Asari biotics to help move rubble whilst we ship machinery from the fleet'.

Another dead body but thankfully it was not the one they were looking for, she stood up as she scanned the body with her omni tool and uploaded the dna result to alliance command and tagged the body. Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams the second human spectre, Acting Executive officer of the SSV Normandy signaled to the medical technician to come forward and put this body into a bag and move for transport. Ashley Williams was tall, slim with dark brown hair and intense hazel coloured eyes that had a slight red tinge due to a combination of no sleep and unshed tears ' Pull yourself together Ashley, you're a Williams' she murmured to herself 'he promised he would not leave me again, he is here somewhere I know it'.

She heard a sonic boom and looked up at the sky as a sapphire coloured Kodiak shuttle was coming in for descent; the block shaped craft slowed down and began to drop slowly down using its vertical thrusters before coming to a complete stop. The door slid open and a slim man in alliance pilot blues steps out 'Lt Cortez, you managed to procure another Kodiak for us' Ashley called out in a fatigued voice 'Yes Commander, swapped out the engine for a bigger eezo core with Adams help. Should be able to use this one to move bigger slabs of rubble' Cortez jumped off the shuttle and took two long strides towards Williams 'Any news yet Ma'am?' Ashley softened her look at the Flight Lieutenant more than aware that Cortez claimed Shepard as a friend; god knows John had told her enough about the tortured individual who still mourned his husband just as Ashley had mourned Shepard when they had all thought him dead after the destruction of the SR1.

'Nothing yet Steve but we are not leaving here without him, not again and that is a promise', Cortez looked at her 'I'm with you Commander, orders Ma'am?' he stated in quick motion, Ashley responded instantly 'Hook up with Garrus and Tali they reported some bioscans coming from a collapsed building a few clicks outside the blast zone and might need air support in lifting some of the heavier pieces, dismissed Lieutenant'. As the flight lieutenant checked his omni tool for a location check on Vakarian she once again looked at the horizon knowing that the longer time went on the chances for Shepard's survival were slipping, there was a bleep and a white flashing light coming from her omni-tool. A message… it was from EDI who had completed new projections on where the blast could have thrown the Commander and sent out new coordinates, Ashley acknowledged receipt of the communique and updated her navpoint with the new coordinates.

Her hand went to her earpiece 'All Normandy shore parties this is Williams we have received new likely coordinates and I will investigate, stand by to divert to my location but for the time being carry on' she listened for a split second when the replies mentioned that the location she was heading too had not been fully cleared on reaper forces as well as a typical Vega quote of her being reckless and to wait for backup and then turned it off.

She checked her supply of heat vent clips for her rifle and then set off over the ruined streets of London trying not to get distracted by the remains of Mako tanks, civilian hovercars and the still smoking remnants of houses, shops and communication booths.

Across the other side of the green zone stood the chiselled Latino coloured figure of one Lieutenant James Vega 'Shit she isn't responding crazy lola' he swore as he turned around to face the men and women beside him 'Corporal track Commander Williams via her omni-tool and inform command that we are following the LC on foot, grab your gear people' as he hit the safety catch on his rifle that extended it from its locked position and a red light flickered on.

'Scars, its James' he called over the radio 'Williams has gone in again, where you at man? Over'

'This is Vakarian, I copy that James. We are two clicks west of your location, waiting pickup from Cortez and will follow you in' sounded the gravelly voice of the Turian agent called Garrus Vakarian 'Vega go easy on Ash she just wants to find him, this is not easy for her... for any of us I know but especially for her' he clicked the radio off when Vega clicked back to acknowledge the message.

He turned to his Quarian companion 'Tali signal Cortez to double time it, Ash could be hitting indoctrinated forces on her own' he winced as the sunlight refracted off Tali's visor and hit his eyes, his mandibles flexed in reflex ' Already done Garrus, he said he is two minutes out'. Garrus looked up to scan the horizon, London looked like Hell and he didn't even want to hazard a guess how the rest of Earth's cities looked or how many years it would take to recover. The STG had made a rough guess that almost half of the population had been harvested by the reapers... there were just over 11 billion humans living here before the invasion the scale seemed unreal to him and they had no idea how many dead were on Palaven or Thessia.

He saw it coming down low, the blue tinted Systems Alliance Kodiak drop shuttle piloted by the fighter pilot turned procurement specialist Flight Lieutenant Steven Cortez. The shuttle came to a stop a few yards in front of them and the side entrance slid open 'Move it people' came the pitched voice of Cortez trying to make himself heard over the pulsating hum of the shuttle's thrusters. Garrus and Tali climbed onto the craft, Garrus slid the door shut and banged on the door 'we're all good' with a vibration the vessel lifted off and they set off to their destination.

'Fire' sounded the metallic voice with just the hint of the Turian man that had once been the host of the grotesque abomination before her. Ashley quickly ducked and dived behind a slab of rock for cover as a number of cannibals... batarians that had been repurposed by the reapers to serve as their foot soldiers opened fire on her position, perhaps she should have listened to Vega she thought as the edges of the rock face began to heat up as they suffered a barrage of mass accelerated slugs, yet these forces seemed organised and seemed to be intent on keeping her away from the collapsed structure that EDI had pinpointed for her. 'Sons of bitches should not be this organised now there is nothing controlling them' she murmured out loud, the rest of the reaper forces they had encountered since the crucible had fired had been very incoherent lacking any clear strategy but the forces shooting at her seemed very different.

She lifted her gun and gripped the barrel tightly, a N7 Valkyrie an upgrade to her old avenger it was designed to be accurate and packed plenty of firepower... she would need it now. She pulled a smoke grenade from her belt and flung it over the wall to where the majority of the forces were concentrated, she edged to the other side of the wall and taking advantage of the confusion caused by the smoke she quickly lined up her shots and squeezed the trigger, due to the two round burst nature it quickly felled three cannibals and took down the shields of the Maurader. She dodged the counter fire by flinging herself to the ground and then turned her dive into a combat roll and fired again this time the maurader went down clean, another cannibal came out of the woodwork Ashley reacted instinctively and fired a concussion shot that caused the bulging mass that was once a Batarian to stagger back Ashley used that opening to charge and flicked out her omni knife and drove it into its skull.

She paused to try and pay back the adrenalin fuelled oxygen debt, something was wrong it seemed too quiet, she saw through the dim light from her surroundings two pale laser type lights shining towards her 'Shit Rachni' she exclaimed, she had no room to manoeuvre.

She heard the ricochet of four shots fill the room and the dying screams of the creature 'You can come out Williams, these reaperised things are no match for a Krogan especially not a battlemaster' said a familiar voice 'Wrex?' Ashley said appraisingly as she slowly stood up, there stood Urdnot Wrex the leader of the Krogan and one of the few Krogan biotics left.

Wrex was not her friend in fact a few years ago she was more than ready to kill him on Virmire when he raised his gun to Shepard but John trusted him so she lowered her gun as did Wrex; his shotgun still smoking from the recently fired shells 'Heard you ran off by yourself Williams, brave but foolish as you can see still plenty things to kill', 'What are you doing here Wrex? Beside killing ravagers' retorted Ashley. 'What do you think I am doing, Liara knew I was in the area and wanted me to keep an eye on you, I had already heard you are not taking Shepard's death well' something snapped inside Ashley 'HE IS NOT DEAD!' she almost screamed, she paused aware she had raised her gun and tried to control her emotions 'His body was no-where near the portal... this is not going to be like on the Normandy I am going to find him no matter how long I am out here and frankly I don't care what T'soni or the rest of you think read into that what you will' she stated defiantly daring the Krogan opposite her to stare her down.

Wrex nodded 'Lead the way Williams, if Shepard is alive I owe him enough to keep you safe at least', Ashley still stared at him 'You owe him more than that Wrex and I don't need anyone looking after me!' as she continued forward she swung her head back 'You coming or not I'm sure there are plenty more things to kill', Wrex ejected a thermal clip from his shotgun 'Ha you think like a Krogan sometimes Williams, just like Shepard'.

'Not sure if that is a compliment or insult Wrex' she waved her gun forward 'these things seem more organised than the rest we encountered after Anderson fired the crucible, they were definitely leading me away from that collapsed superstructure'. Wrex nodded and together they pressed on through the jagged remains of buildings towards where the main cluster of debris was centred and where Ash suspected there were more reaper forces lying in wait, she signalled Wrex to look around to find any more paths to the site that would allow them to arrive undetected.

The shell of the building that was once some sort of cathedral was mainly intact apart from jagged holes that were once stained glass windows, Ashley moved closer to one of the apertures looking keenly at her surroundings very aware of the sound of cracking glass as she walked closer to the opening. She withdrew a small black orb from her belt and deftly threw it into the room – it stuck to the wall silently, Ash knelt to the ground and opened her omni-tool display. As it connected to the probe in the adjunct ant room it began to feed back sensor data. Ashley's fingers adroitly tapped commands onto the tool to try and filter out the heat signatures – Reaper forces were normally hard to detect as technically they were already dead but there was one signature that was very faint but coming through 'John' she whispered as the readout confirmed it was human along with an alliance marine transponder - N7-442367AE '. She grimly tightened her grip on the stock of her gun and reloaded the clip just in case; 'Commander' whispered the low voice of Wrex who had appeared next to her 'We are outnumbered by a lot... even for a Krogan, we should wait for backup Williams' Wrex advised as he pointed out where the cannibals and marauders were stationed. Ashley glanced at the readings again 'Shepard's in there and his life sign is so faint... I'm going in wait for backup if you want', she hit a control on her omni display which detonated the probe inside.

There was a small shudder and vibration as the probe ignited it's eezo core, taking advantage of the smoke Ashley aimed through her scope and pulled off two cannibal kills, there was flare of blue light as her kinetic barriers were absorbed. Ashley looked to her left as three husks had appeared and were striking at her barrier chanting blood curdling screams their bodies pulsating with a sharp blue light from their eye sockets through their central nervous systems. In one quick fluid motion she saw Wrex make a motion with his hand and a wave of energy flew the husks over the broken slab of concrete next to her which was followed up with three blasts from his shotgun, using the time gained Ashley ducked behind the same slab of concrete as her barriers recovered and flickered to show they were at full strength.

Thunderous sounds suddenly reverberated around Ashley as powerful cannon blasts strike her cover, the force of the blast throw her out of safety. 'This is it' she thinks helplessly as a group of three Rachni reaperised ravagers moved their blue laser sights onto her, she lifted herself up determined to show no fear. There was a rush of air as the sacs of membrane on the ravagers seemed to combust 'ASH, get down' came a shout from above her, Ash leapt forward and rolled back into cover as she looked up she could see Garrus perched on a ledge holding his trusty M-92 Mantis sniper rifle locking another clip into the barrel and firing again.

The shots made contact with the ravagers and cut through the armour with perfect precision, she heard a burst of gun fire coming from the other side of the room which cut into the remaining ravager and made short work of the small arachnid type creatures emerging from the thorax of the dead creature, Ash turned around and saw Vega and his company of Marines opening fire with their Avenger rifles 'Got your back LC' came the brusque reply from Vega as she acknowledged his presence with a curt nod.

More gunfire as Wrex came beside her 'Push forward' came his battlecry as he charged the husks pouring from the hole that the Ravager's had emerged from repeatedly firing his gun and launching biotic throws to quickly bring them down. Ashley followed Wrex in, he had created an opening for her 'Cover me' she shouted to Vega's marines as she moved rapidly into the chamber the human life signs were coming from.

Husks, Cannibals and Ravagers were cut down as she progressed with a combination of suppressive fire from Wrex and the marine support team and concise kills shots from Garrus's sniping. Ashley approached an open area where all the building seemed to have been cut away as the view above her was the open blue sky of planet Earth. With increasing trepidation she approached a tangled mess of steel girders and concrete, she paused there was a glint of something flashing or was her mind playing tricks on her.

She quickly moved to push aside a steel girder as she budged it slightly the glittering item dangled down... dog tags with the N7 insignia 'John' she almost shouted with elation and worry as she could just make out a silhouette of a man pinned down as well as the pungent smell of burnt flesh. She put all her strength into moving the girder off him 'Someone help me for god's sake' she called back aware that gunfire had died down now almost panicking.

The girder moved off as Wrex came in and started pulling off the rest of the debris 'It is Shepard' he said quietly. Commander Shepard did not look in a good way, most of his armour has been melted, uncovered flesh seemed to be suffering burns and a small amount of blood had been pooling on a slab of concrete they had just removed to be able to get to the Commander.

'This is Lieutenant Commander Williams, I need an urgent medical transport NOW!' hollered Ashley over the radio 'I don't care about how far we are outside the safe zone, I have Commander Shepard in a critical condition divert to my location now Spectre authority Mister'.

He felt like death warmed up, his skin felt like it was on fire... he vaguely recalled his encounter with Harbinger he felt for sure that he was going to die. There were so many things he had left to do – he had told Ash that he loved her; she told him she loved him... how many people get second chances?

His eyes flickered open... and then closed again. He tried one more time to open them and as his eyes adjusted to the light he saw a window and the darkness of space, he turned his eyes aware that he was not alone. 'Hey Skipper' came a voice, the owner of the voice had long dark hair and hazel coloured eyes that stared at him with such intensity, he was alive 'Ash' he croaked as her fingers entwined with his 'What... Where are we?' 'Ssh' came the reassuring reply 'don't try to talk just yet, I will explain everything later'. His energy failing him as exhaustion was taking him back to sleep he felt a surge of emotion as he felt a light brush of lips on his.


	2. Chapter 2 Borderline

Chapter 2 : Borderline

The heart of the Earth Systems Alliance space was what the humans called the local cluster, their home where Humanity began the third planet of the sol system Earth. A blue green orb – the capital of the systems alliance was undergoing rapid changes before the reaper invasion experiencing a new golden age as the wealth from the colonies and the technology that came from being a member of the Citadel council was brought back to Earth.

Earth was ground zero for the post Batarian reaper invasion; the major cities of Earth were decimated as the reapers undertook their 'harvest' of the Human race and so many of what was once 11.4 billion people were now dead.

'Is it done' sounded a steady voice across a large sterile domed room 'Yes Matriarch' replied a young Asari officer 'The citadel has been moved into orbit around Mars, ground teams standing by to dock and undertake damage assessments'. The 'Destiny Ascension' flagship of what was left of the citadel fleet along with the Turian dreadnaughts and Quarian liveships has used their powerful Mass Effect fields to move the Citadel from Earth and establish a new orbit around Mars. The citadel once repaired could house and feed the entire allied fleet and was the key to the mass relay network which had fallen silent since the crucible had fired it's dark energy beam, it did what it was supposed to do – the reapers caught in its wake were dead but as the beam spread through the relay network it had caused the relays to go silent as if they were dormant but all attempts to activate had failed.

Matriarch Lidanya captain of the Destiny Ascension walked along her bridge stopping to quiz junior officers on mistakes and suggestions, hard work in her opinion would keep everyone focused on the here and now rather than 8 year journey home to Thessia if they could not bring the mass relays back online. She turned to the medical station 'Is there any change on the commander?' she asked, the ascension amongst other duties had a fully equipped hospital suite and after Shepard had been stabilised by Alliance medics had been shipped to Asari dreadnaught for further treatment due to little to no facilities still in existence planet side.

'Surgery removed most of the shrapnel; I understand one shard had embedded near the wall of his heart and it was touch and go but he seems to be pulling through' responded the medical technician, she paused before continuing 'He keeps on drifting in and out of consciousness which is troubling but we are still having trouble figuring out what exactly all the implants that were implanted him actually do, there is one implanted near his hippocampus and seems to link into his cerebral cortex that seems to be showing signs of rejection but we are unsure what the implant's function is as of yet', the elderly Matriarch thought over her words and seemed to recall that in humans and some other vertebrates the hippocampi helped with memories and spatial awareness ' Keep me posted, the council, Turian primacy and Admiral Hackett want to know when he is conscious and lucid, is Commander Williams still with him?' Lidanya asked.

'Yes sir, she hasn't left his side, I asked the critical care staff to setup a cot so she could sleep as she must be exhausted', 'Matriarch' came a voice across the other side of the alcove 'The Cybaean reports they have completed a damage assessment of the docking arms and the SSV Orizaba are requesting permission for their CO to come aboard' Lidanya strolled over to the communication centre Shepard would have to wait whilst she attended to her command duties.

She had never felt so tired, every single muscle seemed to ache and more than once she had felt her eyes start to droop, she looked across at the bed and sighed a sound of relief they had both survived this as much as she had refused to give up hope the thought of John having the same fate of the rest of Hammer had rose its ugly spectre over the last 16 hours.

He was on the mend or at least seemed to be and the fact the brief times he has come too he had said her name 'Ash' and squeezed back when she held his hand seemed to show that he should recover, she looked at his sleeping form partially covered with wires and an automatic medigel dispenser – Commander John Shepard, saviour of the citadel, conqueror of the collectors – the man who managed to unite the galaxy behind him and delivered the largest armada ever assembled to take back his home planet had undergone extensive surgery to repair the damage from his assault on the citadel portal but was now resting comfortable. Ashley leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek as a wave of lethargy came over her she rested her head on the mattress and closed her eyes.

'Williams', 'Ashley?' came an unfamiliar voice, Ashley groggily opened her eyes and looked up, there stood a woman with fading blonde hair and familiar blue eyes she looked to be in her late fifties dressed in the blue uniform of an Alliance admiral. Ashley quickly stood up and saluted as she placed the face at last 'Admiral Shepard, apologies ma'am, 'as you were please Commander' said the confident voice of Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard commanding officer of the SSV Orizaba Kilimanjaro dreadnaught class, flagship of the Alliance 5th Fleet.

Hannah Shepard stood to look at her son, 'How is he Williams? I came by last night but he was still in surgery and you were already waiting for him in recovery' Ashley looked uncomfortable at the admiral 'You should have come in, you are his next of kin Admiral' Hannah gave a small smile 'I think he would rather have seen you when he woke up than his mother Lieutenant Commander or have I read that wrong?' fixing Ashley with a long stare she continued 'I seem to recall after John was MIA following the SR1 destruction I asked you were the rumours true about you and my son – I seem to recollect that you denied them Williams'. Ashley paused trying to phrase the words right and attempt to keep her temper despite a slither of anger emerging 'I lied to you admiral and I am sorry but the brass were already trying to deny everything Shepard... John had fought for and I didn't want anyone tarnishing his memory with confirmation that he… we broke the fraternisation regs as well', Ashley looked back into the admiral's eyes before continuing 'We fell in love during the hunt for Saren, argued about his involvement with Cerberus after he came back and recently patched things up... I still love him if that is what you are asking Sir'.

Hannah sighed and sunk into a chair; she pressed her fingers to temple and started to rub 'Apologies Williams... Ashley I did not mean to accuse you of anything, I just needed the truth and to get confirmation. I think after this is all over the last thing the alliance will want to do is indict the only two human spectres with a fraternisation charge'. Ashley sat back down 'I hope so Admiral – we were discreet as we could be when we were aboard the SR1 but with the war going on we might have got carried away – there is definitely some footage of us um kissing in a presidium cafe from a few weeks ago somewhere' Ashley said somewhat uncomfortably.

The admiral smiled weakly 'It might interest the gutter trash press but nothing the admiralty will be concerned about, that reminds me I forgot to congratulate you on your promotion Lieutenant Commander' Ashley looked up 'Thank you sir, I had a good example to follow' looking towards Shepard lying in the bed 'I forgot to thank you as well, Admiral Anderson told me how you had backed my original promotion from NCO to commissioned officer'. 'I merely gave you elbow room, your accomplishments are your own, John told me weeks before the collector attack that he thought you were one of the finest marines he had ever served with. Perhaps in hindsight now he was a tad biased but you raised from the Junior Lieutenant commission I arranged for you up to Lieutenant Commander all on your own without any support from me, John or Anderson never forget that Commander'

Ashley gave a faint smile 'Thank you Admiral' she then remembered that Admiral Shepard's original query about her son had never been answered 'He suffered a lot of burns throughout his body which they have managed to graft from parts of his chest and back which what was left of his armour had protected but there were complications from loss of blood and splinters of shrapnel embedded. The operation last night was to stop the leakage of fluid coming from one of his implants and to remove shrapnel pieces that had been driven into the heart chamber'. She turned to look at Shepard who's eyelids appear to slightly flicker perhaps a sign he was now in REM sleep instead of being unconscious 'The asari doctors seem to think he will recover but Dr Chakwas our chief medical officer is also aboard she thinks there might be a need to look at some of his implants on the future but without access to Cerberus records on how they were implanted they don't want to touch them at present'. The admiral reached for her son's other hand and gave it a simple squeeze 'he is a survivor just like his father, he will pull through Ashley'.

He was in the forest again…. It was cold, damp and dark, he looked around ash white trees dotted around and between each one shadowy figures that all seemed to be looking into his soul. 'Shepard-Commander' came a ghostly metallic voice, Shepard's mind flash backed to the assault on a derelict reaper to obtain an IFF and one lone geth with an N7 badge and an old sniper rifle. Shepard had been here before every night in his dreams, there were a flood of voices 'It's the right decision and you know it' 'Someone else might have gotten it wrong'. Shepard turned to face the shadows 'Kaiden… Mordin?' he whispered as the shadowy image solidified itself to the image of Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko 'Problems Commander?' came the ghostly voice of Shepard's long dead teammate and friend Shepard took a step back 'Your dead Kaiden', the image of Alenko gave a broad smile 'Oh that's right isn't it…. You left me to die. Assuming Control!' the smiling image of Alenko cracked as his face split open to show four lights shining through the orbs that had been where the eye sockets had existed half a second ago and crackled with pulsating yellow energy 'We are Harbinger Shepard… you belong to us'

As he looked on all of the shadows seemed to surround him… all of them an glowing yellow avatar of Harbinger, there was a noise above him. He looked up a single red eye of a reaper stood above him and fired….. he was burning again, fire snaked around his body 'Fire problematic, Shepard, not insurmountable though' he heard a voice whisper in his ear 'only you can make this right… anyone else will get it wrong'. He saw the image of Mordin Solus before him; the Salarian doctor held out his hand Shepard grasped it 'Time to wake up Commander'.

His eyes groggily opened and then closed… he was not on fire but he felt he had gone ten rounds with a Krogan, he heard two people talking 'What are your career plans now then Williams' said one familiar voice 'Help the alliance and Earth however I can, it depends on Shepard I guess…. We haven't really discussed the future per se but both of us are playing for keeps, we have risked our careers to come this far' came the clipped tones of another voice he knew so very well 'that serious then?'

He forced his eyes open and tried to shift position slightly 'That serious Mom' he stated croakily, he felt both sets of eyes boring into him 'I'm sure I look worse than I feel' he reassured the concerned women by his bedside. He reached for the hand of Ashley Williams who entwined her fingers with his 'Déjà vu, isn't this how I woke up the first time we went into combat together' Shepard asked tenderly, Ashley smiled at him 'Except that time was just a Prothean beacon, you hadn't gone toe to toe with three reapers and undergone surgery Skipper' she bent down and kissed him on the lips 'Don't ever do this to me again… John.. I…' 'It's ok Ash, I'll always come back to you' Shepard said already regretting the line as he saw a quirky smile appearing across Ashley's face 'ah corny line uttered from the John Shepard line of greeting cards, all is right in the world came the teasing response.

'*cough* ahem' said the slightly amused admiral 'forgotten about your poor old mother already John?' Shepard swung his head around which caused slight spikes of pain along his back 'Sorry Mom' as he sunk back into his pillow to relief the pain. Ashley stood up 'I will leave you guys alone, will be back later' she leaned close to Shepard and kissed him swiftly 'Going to get something to eat, don't go anywhere Hero-man', Shepard smiled 'Love you too Ash'.

As the door closed which announced Ashley's exit Shepard looked up at his mother 'Glad to see you're ok, I was worried when we didn't hear from the Orizaba after Arcturus was hit', Hannah had a pained expression in her eye 'Arcturus was hell, never seen anything like it reapers swatted us aside like gnats… if Drescher and the rest of the 2nd fleet had not covered us we would have lost half of the navy… thank god they have been stopped'.

Shepard could see that his mother didn't really want to talk about it 'I'm glad you came… we haven't had much of a chance to talk apart from our brief discussion before my tribunal, thanks for standing by me', Hannah looked him the eye 'I never agreed with you working with Cerberus but your my son, I know you there was no way you would have sacrificed that system without a damn good reason'. Hannah stood up and walked to the window through it she could see the rust coloured planet below and the behemoth structure that was the Citadel 'How much has Williams told you about what happened after your attempt to breach the transport beam?' 'Not much as I have not been very lucid but the gist of it was that Anderson went up opened the arms , ignited the crucible and died in the explosion' said Shepard with a pained look on his face… he suddenly had a memory bubble to the top of his head 'You did good son, you did good…. I'm proud of you', was that all a dream or something else…. Another memory surfaced 'This hurts you'.

He shook it off 'Anderson…. He was a good friend Mom, so many dead….' Hannah swung around and exclaimed in a loud voice 'and none of it was your fault, you had warned the council for years about this and neither they nor the alliance did anything. If it wasn't for you a lot more would be dead John… you united the Quarians and Geth, brought the Turian, Salarian and Asari fleets, cured the genophage…. Do I need to go on?' Shepard said nothing and Hannah continued 'No-one else could have pulled this off, you gave David Anderson his shot and he took it. He above all people would have wanted you to be happy over this… your alive as is the majority of your team especially that young commander who just walked out of here. You have a lot to live for John, don't pity the dead!'

Shepard looked up 'I take it you approve of Ashley then?' 'She found you when most others had given you up for dead but at the end of the day you don't need my approval or anyone else's, as long as you are happy that's good enough for me' stated Hannah 'There will be consequences though John somewhere down the line, Anderson and Hackett went to bat for you a lot. You and Williams are untouchable for now but remember not everyone in the admiralty is your friend'.

The door swooshed open with a slight clicking noise 'Commander, awake and lucid at last halluhah ' came the reserved clipped tones of Dr Karin Chakwas 'Just about Doctor' said Shepard wincing 'Anything you can do about the pain Doc' Dr Chakwas walked over to the med bay and reviewed the display 'I'm going to increase your meds but this is not going to be a simple recovery Shepard, your implants are showing early signs of rejection' she turned to Hannah 'I'm sorry Admiral Shepard but I don't want the commander overtaxing himself this soon after surgery could I ask you to continue your chat with your son another time?'

Hannah Shepard stood up 'In any case I am needed back on my ship soon, they want us to recover what's left of the crucible, you need anything John vid me' and with deft military precision Admiral Shepard left the room.

Almost Three weeks later...

The nightmares continued… every night was the same – shadowy figures whispering in the background and always ended with Harbinger hunting him, Shepard awoke suddenly he felt very clammy, he got up as gently as he could in order not to wake Ashley who was sleeping next to him. He had been discharged from urgent medical care and was currently back on the Normandy technically still off duty for medical reasons pending his rehab with Ashley being assigned command.

He was still in pain from time to time, Shepard grabbed the crutch from the floor beside his bed, the room was partially illuminated by the soft glow from the aquarium, he walked with the aid of his crutch to the bathroom located beyond the CO's desk which was crowded with flimsipads detailing damage assessments and repair schedules from the citadel and allied fleets.

Shepard splashed water over his face and swallowed the pain killers Chakwas had prescribed for him, it had taken almost 3 weeks to recover sufficiently to be this mobile, he closed his eyes waiting for the painkiller to take effect. There was a light touch on his back as he felt two arms snaked around him 'Hey' came the sleepy voice of Ashley 'Trouble sleeping again?', Shepard opened his eyes for a moment just taking comfort of the feel of the warm body leaned against him 'Sorry Ash I didn't mean to wake you – back was playing up taking pain meds' he said in response to the question.

'Uh huh, well come back to bed then skipper' said Ashley taking him by the hand and back towards the bed. They lay quietly together arms and legs entwined; Ashley took a deep breath 'It's the dreams again isn't it? Shepard didn't say anything just lifted Ashley's hand and kissed it gently. Ashley pressed on 'Even if you were close to being indoctrinated its over... the reapers are gone their creepy mind control signal disappeared with them. All we have to do is clear up the abominations they left behind, let the eggheads figure out how to get the citadel to restore the mass relays, get our allies home and restore Earth!' Shepard turned to Ashley and promptly kissed her 'That simple LC?' admiring the way she always seemed to be able to cut to the heart of a problem 'It's that simple hero-man, now get some sleep Captain's orders mister' she said playfully returning the kiss. 'We have the debrief with alliance brass at ten hundred hours, you have your fit to work assessment and Tali seems to think the citadel cleanup team should get the quantum entanglers working soon... busy day John' she reminded him, she turned over but felt fingers tracing over her back 'hmm I take it the painkillers are working then' as she turned back over to face Shepard and pulled him on top of her.

The next morning Shepard woke up to a chiming in his ear 'EDI Alarm off' he called as he blearily opened his eyes 'Good Morning Shepard' came the voice that appeared to belong to no-one, 'Morning EDI I don't recall setting an alarm this morning' said Shepard as he sat up and moved towards the edge of the bed 'No Shepard, Commander Williams instructed me to set the chronometer this morning, she said you did not sleep well last night but to make sure you were up before eight hundred hours'. Shepard slowly stood up 'Did she now?' he said as he smiled unsure on how he would repay the favour 'Yes Shepard, until you are reinstated to active duties she is the ranking officer aboard and I am required to obey all of her orders', 'A fact she is well aware of... that will be all EDI. You can inform the Commander that I am up and about' he assured the Artificial intelligence that governed the ship.

A few short moments later Shepard appeared dressed in the blue uniform of an alliance command grade officer, he had switched his crutch for a leg brace that corrected his muscle atrophy by deploying a small mass effect field and firing off nerve clusters throughout his thigh but it was uncomfortable and he preferred a crutch. He was using it today to try and persuade the admiralty to let him return to duties in some capacity.

Shepard stepped out of the elevator into the belly of the ship, the shuttle bay where the Normandy's small fleet of Kodiak shuttles were kept, the ships armoury was housed and when fully equipped ground assault vehicles such as the M35 Mako Tank and the M44 Hammerhead IFV. 'Commander on deck' came the swift call of Lieutenant Cortez as Shepard walked by he could see two crewmen saluting him along with Lieutenants Cortez and Vega, saluting him along with Lieutenants Cortez and Vega, he returned the salute and walked over to the prepped shuttle where there were a small group of officers assembled in full naval uniform awaiting transport to Earth for the debrief with Alliance Command. 'Glad to see I'm not the only one suffering with this monkey suit Commander' said the jovial tone of Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau who looked distinctly uncomfortable in his light blue uniform 'Put a sock in it Joker, you have been complaining all day about it' teased Ashley who was leaning against the side of the shuttle waiting for Cortez to finish his pre-flight checks. Shepard walked towards the shuttle and propped up to the shuttle next

to Ashley 'Thank for that lovely alarm call this morning LC' he said in a light hearted tone as he gently nudged her with his elbow.. she nudged back 'Anytime Commander'. she lowered her tone 'I could have used water the way you were snoring'. Shepard rolled his eyes 'You could have sung in the shower again.. cracking glass would have been preferable to EDI's screeching' he said in a tormenting tone, an elbow nudged into him again 'You will pay for that one Shepard' came the low voice again, 'promises, promises Ash' responded Shepard with a cheeky grin.

'Preflight check complete, everyone ashore who is going ashore' shouted out Cortez, Ashley moved forward with an urgency 'come on people lets go Moreau,Vega, Chakwas, Traynor grab your gear and buckle in, Adams you have the ship' shouted Ashley. 'Logged - The Commanding officer is going ashore, acting XO Adams has the ship' came the synthetic voice of EDI, 'What no shouting for me to get my gear 'skipper' ' said Shepard as he boarded the shuttle and gave Ashley a mocking half salute 'You have your medical and I know how much your looking forward to that' said Ashley returning the mock salute.

Shepard boarded the shuttle, sat down and hooked into the safety harness, Ashley climbed on board slammed the kodiak door shut and banged on the metal frame 'We all good, go for launch LT' she shouted over the hum of the engines 'Aye Sir' countered Lieutenant Cortez sitting in the cockpit, his hands pressing familiar controls on the orange dashboard - he ignited the main thrusters and opened the airlock with a backwash that the escaping air caused, the teal tinted drop shuttle left the Normandy shuttle bay.

The shuttle engines hummed with life and gently shook the passengers inside; they were almost at their destination, the centre of the Systems Alliance Fleet currently moored around the moon just above the ruins of Luna base which was undergoing repairs. The flagship of the alliance the SSV Everest an 888 metre dreadnaught, the ship that Admiral Hackett had occupied throughout the war and was now serving as the base of operations for all alliance forces whilst Luna base was repaired and repurposed for the same role.

The shuttle banked for starboard 'SSV Everest Control, this is Kodiak 456 out of Normandy requesting permission to dock' asked Cortez reaching for the switch that transmitted the radio signal, 'Kodiak 456, this is Everest flight control you are cleared for landing on starboard pod' came the crackly voice over the tightbeam transmission 'Copy control, vector locked in' confirmed Cortez. The shuttle followed the path of the main mass accelerator cannon that travelled the length of the ship before dipping below it and entering the main landing bay before coming to a gentle stop.

The door slid open and the command crew of Normandy descended, a sharp whistle sounded and a young female officer appeared dressed in the uniform of a naval ensign 'Welcome to the Everest Sirs' she stated 'The lieutenants are required for their official debriefing with the Post action committee, Lieutenant Commander.. Admiral Hackett has requested your presence for an update on the Normandy repairs' she paused and then turned to Shepard 'Commander Shepard, Dr if you can follow me the medical commission is waiting to see you'.

Shepard turned to Ashley 'Wish me luck LC?' Ashley smiled 'Yes Sir... go get them Shepard' acutely aware that eyes were on them; she turned and walked to the elevator along with the rest if the squad minus Chakwas who had a slight smile on her face 'Something funny Dr' Shepard asked 'Of course not Commander... shall we get going?' replied Dr Chakwas.

Ashley stared at the sterile white surrounding of the elevator as it went up past floor after floor, Vega and Joker had already reached their destination but she was heading towards deck one to meet with Fleet Admiral Hackett. She was never one for nerves but she did think back to all those years ago stationed on Eden Prime, she never imagined that in just four short years she would overcome the Williams curse... since the first citadel battle she had been promoted four times raised in rank from a non commissioned Gunnery Chief to Operations chief, from there worked her way up through the Lieutenant ranks and was now a Lieutenant Commander chosen by Admiral Anderson to serve as his Executive Officer on the SSV Normandy even though that did not go as planned thinking back to where Anderson had chucked Shepard's commission and his old command symbolised in his old dog tags.

She had never had much of a chance to serve as an XO due to injuries sustained and when she came back after the citadel coup Garrus already served as XO in a non official role, here she was now acting CO for less than three weeks and now reporting directly to the supreme commander of the alliance forces and until martial law was disbanded and elections held the head of state.

The doors swished open and she carefully stepped out, she could not see the admiral anywhere in fact the only presence she could see were the two marines standing guard by the elevator doors. 'Come on in Commander' said a gravelly voice, Ashley walked into a large circular room the back of it was a giant glass screen that looked out onto the length of the ship and boy was it a big ship she thought. Maybe not quite as large as the Asari or Turian dreadnaughts but human made with a mixture of the firepower of a dreadnaught and the ability to control space due to its hybrid nature of being a battleship and air carrier 'Quite a view isn't it Williams?' said the same gravelly voice now sounding next to her. Ashley turned and with a crisp salute said 'Lieutenant Commander Williams reporting as ordered Admiral, 'as you were please Commander, I prefer to keep my briefings informal when I can... please have a seat' said Hackett pointing to a seat in front of an oval shaped desk.

Hackett sat down giving a sigh as he did so 'It's been a long three weeks Commander, how are you holding up? Ashley returned the look 'As well as can be expected Sir, the Normandy repairs are progressing well, the tears in the armour have been repaired and Lieutenant Adams expects to have FTL capability restored soon'.

'Well done Commander but as you can imagine I did not invite you up here to talk about the Normandy' Hackett temporary halted as he stood up again to look out the window 'People are scared Williams, everything they have known has been taken away and I thought you should know that despite my best efforts you and Shepard have enemies at home'. Ashley looked puzzled 'Sir?' 'This entire briefing is a farce Commander, some of the Admirals are concerned about their power more than the alliance's wellbeing and are extremely uncomfortable with an powerful alien armada trapped in our solar system. There is a lot of talk of taking steps and when the Asari moved the citadel with my approval I suspect things may move beyond talking. Commander they will try and keep you and Shepard out of this and will use every trick at their disposal, until now they could not move directly as you and the Commander are heroes the human spectres who helped liberate Earth but they have found out about you and Shepard's shall we say less than professional relationship'.

Ashley looked uncomfortable 'Um Sir, I'm not quite sure I know what you mean' trying to get this conversation back to a level she felt she could control. 'The time to play coy has come and gone Commander, I don't blame you or Shepard hell I think both are you damn heroes and if you two make each other happy then you both deserve it. Unfortunately some of the other Admirals don't see it my way and one in particular is coming after you, are you familiar with Vice Admiral Garrett?' asked Hackett turning around to look Ashley in the eye.

'Garrett Sir? Yes I know her – she sat on my promotion reviews early in my career and blocked every single one, she always managed to get a reference to Shanxi in and my grandfather without fail' said Ash with a fire in her voice remembering the unjust opinions of her by so many officers before she signed on with Shepard and proved herself in the field. 'I seem to recall she was in favour of court-martialing Shepard to pacify the Batarians as well'.

'She has you in her sights Lieutenant Commander I'm not sure what evidence she has but she would not be coming at you unless she had something solid. I can only help you so much Williams I am walking a tightrope, I need the admiralty support at least until we can elect a new prime minister and alliance parliament or I risk looking like a dictator... Earth needs a united front at least for now'

Hackett looked up as he sat back down in his chair 'Williams... Ashley I will do what I can but yours and Shepard's dirty laundry is about to be aired no matter what happens, remember to keep your temper and play it as straight as you can... I need you and Shepard out there if we want to keep a lid on this'

'Sir, this is absolute bull...' started Ashley 'I trust you to keep comments like that to my office and out of the briefing Lieutenant Commander. Go take five... dismissed Williams' ordered Hackett.

Ashley closed her eyes as she composed herself, gave a snappy salute and brusquely walked out of the office and into the elevator, as the door closed she hit the wall damn Garrett and damn the admirals playing politics at a time like this she thought furiously to herself as she felt tendrils of pain in her knuckles.

He ached all over as he had been poked and prodded with a multitude of sensors and probes for the last twenty minutes, it hadn't gone as well as he hoped but better than it could have been. He had been cleared for command duties again thanks to Chakwas's intervention and running commentary on his state of mind but he had not been cleared for combat duties and were advising him that it was possible due to the problems with his implants he might not be cleared for marine combat duty again.

'Well I think that's about it Staff Commander, welcome back to duty' said the alliance medical commission doctor as he shook his hand, 'Thanks Doc I think' said Shepard dryly returning the handshake. 'That wasn't so bad was it Shepard' said Dr Chakwas in her slight British inflection 'If you say Dr how about next time it's your turn' said Shepard, Chakwas laughed and opened the door 'After you Commander' she said holding it open.

'Still in one piece then Shepard?' said a voice as they walked into the outer atrium of the medical bay currently masquerading as Alliance Medical Command, Shepard looked to the direction of the voice to see a tall grey skinned bipedal alien encased in dark blue metallic armour. A Turian but not just any Turian 'Garrus Vakarian, small world' called out Shepard as he walked towards his friend and clapped him on his shoulder, 'Sorry I haven't been around Shepard' said Garrus 'but I was called away by the Primarch, must have done something to piss him off as just been handed a General's commission'.

'General Vakarian... careful Garrus you might end up being respectable' came the jovial tone of Shepard teasing his friend 'Me... never, well we will see, anyways I was in the area came to brief the alliance on the citadel repairs and heard you were aboard. How are things really Shepard, we haven't had a chance to talk?'. Shepard started walking slowly as Garrus did beside him 'I have my good days and bad days Garrus, medics here trying to push out of combat duties' Garrus looked at him as his mandibles clicked slightly as he responded 'Is that really such a bad thing... neither of us are as young as we were and I seem to recall us agreeing that our galaxy saving days are behind us' Garrus put his hand on Shepard's shoulder as he continued 'If you forgive the use of a human phrase I think you have done your bit for king and country maybe it's time to think about what you want from life Shepard, you and Ash lost each other before... I picked up the pieces after Horizon remember – maybe the two of you should make the most of this time... god knows you have earned it'.

Shepard was going to respond when his omni-tool beeped, it was an encrypted message from Ashley he scanned the message which detailed her meeting with Hackett 'it never rains but pours' he sighed, 'Problems Shepard?' asked Garrus 'Potentially, about to walk into a live fire exercise and my gun is only loaded with blanks or at least politically speaking' he replied to Garrus seeing the puzzled look in his eye 'Ah the xenophobes finally making their move then' Garrus looked at him 'part of the reason I am here Shepard the council thought you might need some morale support'.

Shepard looked at him appraisingly 'Come on Garrus, I'm not letting Ashley face this on her own', 'I've got your back same as always Shepard' stated Garrus as they quickly moved towards the lift.

The lift opened into a large semi circular room on the left and right hand side of the room were raised dais's that were filled with personal of different ranks, along with one or two flashes of light that betrayed the presence of the press, he managed to recognise the face of Diana Allers the journalist who was embedded in the Normandy during the reaper conflict, she managed a warm smile as she was speaking quietly into her holocam.

At the centre of the room was a large table with highbacked seats in which were seated a number of men and women in the uniform of an Systems Alliance Admiral. There was a swish as the elevator opened again Shepard turned to see who it was as Ashley walked in 'Sorry for springing this on you skipper... wish Hackett could have given us more warning' she whispered 'Nothing to be sorry for Ash, I won't let them take you down you have worked too hard to get where you are' he spoke quietly back 'John I'm all for the gallant act but we are both at fault in case you forgot' she hissed back at him 'remember Shepard I don't need saving, I never did... we walked into this with eyes open and I'm not lying about how I feel about you' she stated quietly still as her eyes softened, Shepard looked at her 'I suppose kissing you right now would not look too good LC' Ashley laughed softly 'probably not skipper save it for later'.

There was a soft chime which announced that the admiralty board was in session. One of the admirals raised from his chair 'This board is now convened, Commanders thank you for attending please be seated' the pallid grey haired Admiral stated as a servicemen pointed to a table in front of them where there were two chairs. Shepard and Ashley sat down as a figure stood up on the dais in front of them, 'The chair recognises Vice-Admiral Magda Garrett' said the computerised voice of the Everest's VI. Admiral Garrett cut an intimidating presence as she stood tall in her dark blue admiral's uniform, her hair was cut in a low bob with dark hair just greying at the roots, 'This is the follow-up investigation and debrief into the actions of the SSV Normandy and personal. Shepard, Williams – please place your hands on the interface for the VI to record your credentials for the record' she said in a stiff manner putting a slight emphasis on the word Williams. Shepard placed his hand on a white panel on the desk, the synthesised voice of the Everest VI sounded 'Name - John Shepard, Rank –Staff Commander, Military Vocation Code – N7 Specforce Naval Marine Corps, Current Assignment – Commanding Officer SSV Normandy attached to the office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel , Honours – Star of Terra for actions at Elysium, Alliance medal of honour for actions on the Citadel, Five citations for bravery under fire, Two citations for innovative tactical solutions'.

Shepard withdrew his hand and Ashley placed hers and the voice sounded again 'Name – Ashley Williams, Rank – Lieutenant Commander, Military Vocation Code – S1 Orbital Deployment, Reconnaissance, Infiltration, and Assault Forces - Naval Marine Corps, Current Assignment – Acting Executive Officer SSV Normandy – Spectre status confirmed but no active assignment, Honours - Alliance medal of honour for actions on the Citadel, Two Citations for Marksman excellence, One citation for courage under extreme battlefield conditions.

The Virtual Intelligence then stated 'Records updated and confirmed, Logged - Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Commander Williams are present and verified'.

Admiral Garrett sat back down and looked down at the two officers before her 'Commander Shepard thank you for your detailed after-action report but there are a few matters have come to light that we require some clarification on as I'm sure you can understand. You are a hero after all Commander to the people of Earth' she said with a fastidious look on her face, 'not just Earth but to Palaven as well' came a familiar voice from the audience 'Yes and to Rannoch' came the familiar voice of Tali'Zorah. 'SILENCE' came the dissenting cry of Garrett, 'Marines remove the aliens from this chamber now!' 'Myself and Admiral Vas Normandy are ranking officers in the Turian Hierarchy and the Quarian Admiralty, I'm sure you would not want to cause a diplomatic incident amongst your _allies_ would you Admiral Garrett?' came the mocking tone of Garrus. An unnamed admiral next to Garrett put his hand on Garret's arm and shook his head silently, 'Of course not _General _' Garrett said frostily 'But that does bring me to my first point namely Commander that the SSV Normandy is an alliance frigate... one of our most advanced and you have repeatedly let aliens... I'm sorry let me rephrase that non-alliance personal aboard with free run over the ship. It did not escape my notice that I saw a lot Quarian destroyers with extremely similar technology in regards to the stealth systems, do you find that as surprising as I did Shepard?'

Shepard stood up 'Admiral, forgive me I'm a simple soldier' as a small titter of laughter went through some of the crowd 'did you have a point to make? As I could point out that the Salarians have outfitted entire Dreadnaughts based on the Normandy Prototype stealth drive along with the fact that the Normandy was a joint Turian-Human design intiative. The Quarians may have got their ideas from my ship but I can deny that anything untoward in terms of espionage ever happened on my watch. I trusted and still do trust every single man or woman that has served on the Normandy both on the SR1 and SR2 no matter their race or creed'.

'A pretty speech Commander but forgive me if I don't take your word for it, your decision making has been suspect at best, do the words Cerberus mean much to you or the murder of three hundred thousand Batarians and of course you say you trust everyone on your crew why then have you got the granddaughter of one of the greatest cowards the alliance has ever known?' retorted Garrett.

Ashley looked up, her eyes narrowing as she got up 'Now wait just one moment you...'she started to exclaim angrily her finger pointing to Garrett, Shepard quickly intervened 'No Ash, this is what she wants' he said quietly 'Sit down... please'. Ashley acquiesced and returned to her seat 'My apologies for speaking out of turn Sir' she said to Garrett her tone showing that she was far from sorry as you could get.

Shepard turned back to look at the Admiral 'I believe I was cleared of all charges relating to my brief employment with Cerberus and the attenuating circumstances regarding the relay destruction was accepted by the defence committee at my tribunal, unless alliance law has changed in my brief time fighting the reapers I trust I can't be tried for the same charge twice?' 'Laws can be changed Commander' snapped Garrett who cool beginning to snap 'Of course admiral that is of course your prerogative, I would have thought rebuilding our civilisation and helping our allies return home would be further on the list of priorities but like I said I am a simple soldier what do I know of such things?' another small wave of laughter went through the room.

Shepard paused before continuing 'on the last point you raised, I never knew General Williams personally but knowing what I do know of Turians I would say he saved a lot of lives by surrendering that day and bought time for the Calvary to rescue Shanxi. What I will tell you however that I have gotten to know his granddaughter very well over the years, Commander Williams is amongst one of the finest marines I have ever had the privilege of serving with and this is coming from a man who served with David Anderson and Kaidan Alenko. Her achievements are her own and the fact that command have recognised this by her coming so far in rank over the last two years should demonstrate that fact'.

Garrett smiled 'Your defence of Commander Williams is admirable Shepard but could you pray tell us what is the nature of your relationship with the Lieutenant Commander?' and hear it was the moment she had been building up too Shepard surmised. 'I'm not sure I know what you mean Admiral' said Shepard playing it coy 'You don't... well let's just say that information has reached us that seem to suggest that your relationship with Williams is not quite professional, you are aware of the fraternisation code of conduct for all alliance officers are you not Shepard? What am I saying of course you are... you are after all one of our more experience command grade officers. If the committee will allow it I will submit this video recording taken from the citadel security footage from the Presidium commons a few weeks ago' stated Garret somewhat triumphantly.

A small screen appeared to lower down from the centre of the room and displayed Shepard and Ashley standing next to a table in a cafe along the Presidium, they were standing very close together and Shepard's voice could be heard saying 'That sounds great Ash but right now I can't focus on anything but you' and then as the video skipped ahead 'well, we had something before, a long time ago, something important' said Ashley on the video which then jumped ahead again 'Are we going somewhere' said the voice of Ashley 'I want more Ash, I can't see myself with anyone else' said the image of Shepard as it jumped ahead for the last time 'Remind me' said Shepard, 'Yes Sir' replied Ashley as the video ended with the two commander's kissing.

Garrett walked down towards the two commanders, 'well I think that sort of makes my point for me, I think we have heard enough of your little speeches Shepard... have you anything to say Williams? Any little nuggets of information that could shed light on your vastly inappropriate relationship with Shepard, oh I forgot something to add to the evidence, forgetting for the moment your throwaway comment about _having something before_ in case you claim this was a one off moment of weakness we have this recording from the London resistance base of operations taken just before Hammer was shipped out' Garrett tapped a button on her omnitool as audio began to play 'I don't want you to go' came the voice of Ashley followed by 'I love you Shepard' 'and I love you too' came the voice of the commander.

Ashley got up, visible angry 'There is nothing inappropriate about my relationship with Shepard! I love him so what, it has never stopped me executing my duty to the alliance or to the mission I was assigned' 'Your duty to the alliance means obeying all the laws Williams or maybe things like that don't matter to a family of traitors and cowards' shouted Garrett.

'Wait a god damn minute' bellowed Shepard 'Your right Admiral I do know the regulations regarding fraternisation, there is nothing in the regulations that stops me from having a personal relationship with another officer it only comes into effect when I am that said officer's direct superior. Ashley is a spectre and was not officially assigned to the Normandy when that particular video was taken so I was not her commanding officer and due to her spectre status we more or less have the same rank'.

'Poppycock Shepard, we have enough evidence from your former crew about you and Williams on the SR1 as well' replied Garrett angrily 'My relationship with Ashley did not break fraternisation rules until after we stole the Normandy which again technically I did not do as a member of the alliance navy' countered Shepard.

Garrett sneered 'Perhaps your time with the aliens has addled your brain Shepard or maybe you still have some brain damage from your time spent floating in space or buried in London. I move to put you on gardening leave and court martial you for failing in your duty as a member of the alliance, failing to safeguard alliance technology and breaking the fraternisation regulations. Williams is only guilty of fraternisation which require some brig time and a reduction in rank, it's obvious you were promoted too early.'

Shepard leapt to his feet 'Ashley deserves her rank, if you are going to punish someone let it be me, I was the senior officer I take complete responsibility' 'No Shepard, you are not taking the fall for this' responded Ashley 'Touching' came the mocking reply from Garrett 'I think you are done... Marines take the commanders into custody and escort them to the brig'.

'Belay that order' said a loud gravelly voice who had just walked into the room 'Who do you think you are...' came the voice of Garrett as she swung around and then paused 'I think I am Admiral Hackett supreme commander of all alliance forces and acting head of state for the Earth Systems Alliance Vice-Admiral' responded Hackett who stared at Garrett in the eye 'I have come to put an end to this farce, I knew you were playing politics Magda and wanted to show the alliance that we are still in charge but grounding two of the only human spectres in existence and the one officer that is trusted by the entire citadel council and associate races... now that is pure stupidity'.

'Stupidity you say? Stephen I will tell you what is stupid trusting this this alien lover and a Williams, he has always put the council before Humanity. Don't you see we have this chance, the citadel fleet where we want them, the citadel, the mass relays... they can all be ours all we have to do is take them' said Garrett looking slightly unhinged.

'Shepard is one of the finest officers under my command, an N7 marine – Anderson's protégé and without him our victory over the reapers would not have been possible. Williams has proven herself over and over again during the hunt for Saren and after, what you are suggesting Magda is madness... we achieved this victory through working together with the other races it showed that the principle that the citadel council was based on – cooperation with the other races is our greatest strength. People are scared for the future and that is understandable as the unknown is always unpredictable but the way we will get through this is by working together with the other races not by conquest'.

'and these two... they are guilty Hackett you saw the same evidence I did' fumed Garrett, Hackett turned towards the two officers standing by their table 'Guilty of what Magda... falling in love – is that a crime now? They probably broke the fraternisation regs but you have no proof this happened when Shepard was assigned as William's direct CO. Williams you are relieved of your XO duty pending reassignment but convention states that as a spectre agent you can serve on the Normandy if you choose too unless overridden by the citadel council. Shepard I need you out there, we have to get the citadel back up and running which means more of the politics you claim to hate so much to that end you will be serving as the alliance liaison to the citadel and the rest of the allied fleets, as you will be dealing with dignitaries on behalf of the alliance you will need a rank that will give you the respect the position is entitled so I am promoting you to Captain effective immediately, don't let me down Captain'.

Garrett stood there stunned for a second before she turned around and then swivelled back to Shepard her eyes going from blue to yellow 'Assuming Direct Control' came the voice of the ancient reaper AI as the admiral's body started to convulse before exploding in a yellow beam of light. Shepard charged at Hackett to get him to cover as Ashley followed him into cover with a roll, Ashley shouted at the marine across the room 'Marine – Gun now!' there was a sudden noise of bending metal as the far door opened and in came the screaming forms of a dozen husks, there was a rush of air as a large turian figure came into cover with them overturning the table to provide more support 'Just like old times Shepard' said Garrus as he reached into his armour compartment and his sniper rifle extended 'Thought we were going to retire' said Shepard dryly as more husks descended into the room.


	3. Chapter 3 Repel Boarders

Note - I would like to thank all of my friends from the Ashley boards on BSN for their support and comments... Special mention to AMW, Hellfire, Dahelraider, Cptdata, Clone, Ashi and ADlegend.

Chapter Three: Repel Boarders

A wave of biotic energy rushed through the room as the person that was once Magda Garrett threw ball after ball of energy against the meagre defences of Captain John Shepard, Lt Commander Ashley Williams, General Garrus Vakarian, Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Admiral Stephen Hackett and what was left of the Marine contingent.

Husks charged again out... and they were forced down with a combination of rifle and pistol fire, their bodies were still twitching 'Corporal how many clips you got left' asked Ashley to the marine to her left, a swarthy marine replied in a slight French accent 'Twenty clips Sir' before passing one to Ashley who used it to reload the standard marine issue M-8 Avenger she obtained from the marine guard who had died from a biotic explosion from the Harbinger avatar moments after tossing it to the Spectre agent.

There was a locking sound as the spent heating clip was expelled and a fresh one was locked in 'We're pinned down skipper we need to get out of this room' she breathed heavily to Shepard. He turned and gave her a small smile 'No combat armour, limited firepower and a harbinger controlled construct... I'm open to ideas Ash' Shepard said warily as another crash of biotic force rocked the jury-rigged cover. 'He doesn't seem as powerful as your reports stated when you faced the collectors Captain' said a flagging Hackett in between breaths 'I guess a human doesn't have the same biotic potential than a Prothean does Sir' replied Shepard.

'Still doesn't answer the question how it took over Admiral Garrett or how these things got on board my ship Shepard' queried Hackett looking across to Garrus as the Turian sharpshooter fired his rifle in two quick successions taking down two husks – one straight in the chest and the other a clean headshot both husks being thrown back by the impact of the slugs hitting them at high velocity.

'We know that Cerberus had developed implants to mimic the indoctrination signal which were partly based on the collectors... maybe a side effect was it allowed the biological transfer of the reaper mind' hypothesised Tali 'Your saying she was a Cerberus mole then Tali?' said the low voice of Garrus 'She definitely seemed the type' Tali answered.

'The burning question is how Harbinger is still alive... we saw all the reapers destroyed and T'Soni's shadow broker team confirmed that Harbinger's corpse fell just outside London in the Surrey area' mentioned Ashley.

There was another shake as harbinger threw a kinetic blast at them 'Human you thought you could destroy us... we are so beyond your understanding as you are to the insects that inhabited your world' came the voice of the reaper known as Harbinger 'Ideas people?' hollered Shepard knowing that the barricade would not last long against this onslaught.

There was a sudden sweeping sound of whistling air and a crunching noise from the next room, the main door swept open as a tall woman with a sweeping pony tail and a low cut top which exposed a lot of tattoos rushed into the room followed by a small group of young people in alliance combat suits. 'Biotic Strike' came the order from the tattooed woman, the group of people quickly threw biotic energy through the air and directly at harbinger 'Suppressive fire' ordered Shepard as the team broke cover and all started firing at harbinger. There was a popping sound as the biotic barriers that protected the avatar of harbinger broke 'Focus fire, kill that son of a bitch' instructed the gravelly voice of Admiral Hackett.

The biotic armour that protected the reaper seemed to bend and buckle under the combined strikes 'Releasing control' said the beleaguered voice of Harbinger, there was a blaze of bright energy and the harbinger entity disappeared leaving the broken body of Admiral Garrett in its wake... her injuries extensive and struggling to draw breath now the only noise in the room.

Hackett got up and slowly approached Garrett lying in a shallow pool of her own blood, Shepard got up 'You Ok Ash?' he queried 'that's my line Skipper, I'm the one cleared for combat – how's the leg holding up and I'm fine?' answered Ashley as she gave him a smile 'Stiff, come on lets go thanks our rescuer' Shepard said motioning the small team of biotics that had come charging to their rescue.

'Impeccable timing Jack' called out Shepard warmly to the tattooed woman 'Shit Shepard, if you told me I'd be taking on old glowing eyes again I would have dressed up' replied Jack with a half mocking smile 'I suppose I owe you one after your Grissom academy escapade and for some reason Rodriquez seemed to get excited about coming to your rescue this time... I think she might have a crush on you Shepard... no accounting for taste' continued Jack as the young biotic called Rodriquez shuffled behind her teammate and mumbled something about just wanting to do her duty.

Jack left her squad and walked closer to Shepard, Ashley, Tali and Garrus 'its hell out there Shepard – husks have swept all over this deck and lost contact with the CIC, all outbound communication lines seem to have been cut haven't been able to get hold of Sanders' stated Jack in a low voice in order for her students not to overheard. 'How the hell they get on board' asked Garrus. Jack looked directly at the scarred turian 'not 100% sure how they originally got on board but on our way fighting here we came across rooms with dragon's teeth spikes like you used to see on the vids describing the Geth attack on Eden Prime, we were only supposed to come here for Sanders to evaluate the kids'. 'Damn I hoped to never see those things ever again' stated Ashley, Jack looked at her 'Sorry lady I don't think we have been introduced – the names Jack, a survivor of Shepard's little suicide squad' she said.

Shepard introduced them 'Jack this is Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, Ash this is Jack one of the people I recruited to take down the collectors, she works for the alliance these days and trains the biotics out of the John Grissom Academy' Jack seemed to look at Ashley appraisingly 'So this is THE Ashley Williams... should have recognised you Shepard had this sappy picture of you sitting on his desk throughout the entire time I spent on the Normandy. Did you know he rejected mine and the Cerberus cheerleader's obvious charms, he preferred to sit in his office staring at the picture and reading old letters from you... was almost sad watching his puppy dog eyes especially after Horizon' said Jack in a challenging manner 'Perhaps he was after more than any port in a storm then Zero' replied Ashley staring directly at Jack.

Jack looked back and then started to laugh heartily 'Haha, good reply Williams – I could grow to like you... Just never call me Zero, its Jack!' 'Noted... Jack' stated Ashley looking at Shepard who had a slightly relieved look on his face. 'If you have quite finished trying to embarrass me and before Garrus cracks a bad joke go and secure the front passage we will be moving soon, we need to secure some armour, resupply weapons and try and make contact with the bridge or CIC' ordered Shepard as the Marine contingent, Jack, Garrus and Tali complied with his instructions.

'Staring at my picture is it Shepard?' teased Ashley as the rest of the team secured the door and scoured the hallway for anymore husks, Shepard looked at Ashley with a joking smile 'What can I say Williams you in full armour and hair up in a bun does it for me at least until I buy you dinner and get you in that tinskirt you promised long ago' he taunted before Ashley could retort Hackett called over 'Captain, Commander over here'.

Garrett was in a bad way, her skin was cracked and showing some sort of implant underneath glowing in the same ominous blue colour that the husks did. A small pool of dark blood had started to congeal underneath her as her breath rasped with each exhale of breath with a slight convulsion of obvious discomfort. Hackett had a first aid kit out and was administering some medigel to try and relieve her pain, she rasped to him 'Stephen... never...meant...for...this' 'I know Magda now hold still this should stop the pain' replied Hackett as he activated the medi-gel which absorbed into her open wounds.

'Cerberus approached us... what was left of alliance command still on Earth after the initial invasion' gasped Garrett as the medi-gel has it's intended effect 'said that they had cracked the secret of indoctrination and offered it to us... It worked the implant let me control reaper forces... saved lives' continued Garrett in a tired voice, her strength flagging. 'Had no idea about the reapers... would have never worked with them... I'm All... Allia' Garret's voice stopped suddenly unable to voice the words as her strength ebbed and then she was gone. Hackett closed her eyes and finished her sentence 'You were Alliance Magda'.

Hackett stood up 'what did you think Shepard' he said still facing the corpse of the recently deceased Admiral Garrett 'Can't imagine what she would have gone through on Earth, Cerberus took advantage of how desperate she was... what worries me is how she said Cerberus approached us. The majority of alliance command that were rescued now have senior positions within the fleet and if any of them have the implant as well...' Shepard said leaving the unthinkable unsaid.

Hackett stood for a moment absorbing the information 'We need to get moving Shepard... we need to get to the CIC and warn the fleet, your report on the collectors stated that Harbinger can only control one construct at once correct?' solicited Hackett 'Yes Sir he could now control someone else who had the Cerberus implant but he only ever showed the ability to control one at a time during my campaign against the collectors' replied Shepard.

'Let's get moving Captain, there should be an armoury down corridor 16 Delta where we can load up' instructed Hackett 'You heard the Admiral people' ordered Shepard 'Tali send your drone ahead to act as recon... Garrus I want you covering us, Marines stay with the admiral. Jack I want a mixture of offensive and defensive powers – barriers up first and then strike' there were a murmur of affirmatives, nodded heads and a few yes sirs.

'Where you want me skipper' queried Ashley, Shepard stopped for a second to take a breath as he was struggling to take a breath and his leg was feeling very stiff 'beginning to think the doc was right about combat duty Ash' he replied quietly. Ashley looked at him in concern 'don't push yourself John... your only three weeks post op it's a miracle you have come as far as you have' 'I'll be fine, I want you to assume command if I can't LC' reassured Shepard 'Aye aye Sir' saluted Ashley before in a louder voice saying 'Ok people, you have your orders lets go'.

They had fought their way to the armoury and encountered heavy resistance with husks trying to rush them but thankfully no other reaperised creatures. They encountered very few corpses but plenty of dragon teeth devices, Shepard surmised that Garrett had brought a few husks on board to force the issue using her implant not realising she was a puppet of Harbinger and from there they had created more and more husks until the security forces were overwhelmed.

Communications were still cut to outside the ship and no response from coming from the helm, CIC, Engineering or the secondary bridge but at least if the officer in charge followed protocol and flushed the deck to the vacuum they were now all in armour and could survive a decompression for a limited time. 'Elevators are out' said Garrus as he repeatedly pressed the call button on door, the two marines helped him force open the door the red circle on the door changing to green as it prised open.

It opened up onto a vast shaft dimly lit with red and amber blinking emergency lights 'How many floors up do we need to go' asked Tali to no-one in particular 'At least ten decks if we are making for the secondary bridge, twenty two if we head to the CIC' came the French accented Marine Corporal. 'Head to the secondary bridge and attempt to make contact with CIC or transfer ship functions to there, we need to contact the fleet and see what is going on. We may need to vent the ship if we have lost control of CIC' instructed Hackett.

Shepard looked at the shaft 'Ash?' he said as Ashley moved closer to him 'Don't even think about Shepard, there is no way you are going to be able to climb up ten or twenty decks in your current condition' Ashley said in her own direct manner 'I'm fine' Shepard replied but still breathing heavily as the exertions of the fighting through the deck was catching up 'No John, no you're not - you're not going that's final. You and the Admiral can stay here with a defence team, I'll take a team and secure the secondary bridge' Ashley said, pausing when she saw the look on Shepard's face 'this is the right decision and you know it skipper'. Shepard looked at Ashley he knew that look, her defiant she wasn't going to back down look as her brown eyes stared into his ocean coloured ones, he gave her a weak smile 'you have the ball LC run with it... but I don't like it'.

Shepard turned around and walked slowly to Hackett 'I think myself and you are not quite up to scaling an elevator shaft today Sir, I recommend Commander Williams to take a team and secure the secondary bridge we can hole up here with a defence team and stop the husks from following' Hackett nodded in approval 'I think my days of climbing through the bowels of a ship are behind me as well Captain, proceed'. Shepard turned to the others 'Ash - Take Garrus, Tali and Jack - secure the secondary bridge, restore ship communications if possible and get the lay of the land. If you are unable to get comms back up then see if you can restore the elevator so we can follow you up, Jack leave some of your team here for support; some extra barriers and ammo modding will come in handy'

'I'll look after them Jack' finished Shepard seeing Jack about to tell him anyway, 'not one scratch Shepard' warned Jack walking away and starting the climb up following Tali who had already sent her drone ahead and was keeping pace. Garrus and Ashley stood close to Shepard awaiting their final instructions 'Ash...' started Shepard 'If you tell me to be careful I will be tempted to...' started Ash before Shepard interrupted 'Actually I was going to tell you to look after Garrus the last time I left him to his own devices he pissed off every merc group on Omega and I had to come and save his ass' joked Shepard. 'Funny Shepard, you forgot to add the rocket to my face that your presence did not prevent... besides the last time I left you on your own you walked into a laser beam, got buried under rubble and your girlfriend had to come rescue you' teasingly replied Garrus, he got up clicked a button on his Mantis which folded back up as he holstered it 'I better get a move on will never hear the end of it off Tali if she reaches the top first'.

Ashley stepped into the shaft and put one foot on the rung, Shepard followed her into the shaft 'Hey' he said as he grabbed her free hand and pulled her into a deep kiss 'be careful' he said seriously as they parted from the kiss 'You too... I love you Shepard' said Ashley as her fingers entwined with Shepard's 'I love you too Williams' he replied looking into her eyes as he let go of her hand and Ashley started the climb.

'How much further Tali?' called out Ashley, they were in a long dark shaft that spanned the infrastructure of the ship very dimly lit with only blinking lights illuminating the area. Tali'Zorah was the furthest ahead occasionally checking her omnitool which tracked the progress of her combat drone that was floating above them 'Almost there Ash' called back the Quarian engineer and admiral of the migrant fleet. 'About F... flipping time' called out Jack 'Ah Jack how is that swear jar going for you, can you buy a new tattoo with it yet' joked Garrus 'Screw you Vakarian' came the almost good natured riposte.

'Noise down now' called Ashley as they reached the door, Ashley tapped her omnitool into override mode and held it against the door as the VI algorithms embedded in the tool started to override the door locking mechanism. Ashley made a signal to Garrus that the door was about to unlock, the Turian ex c-sec agent unholstered his gun and it expanded into the slightly battered but still effective sniper rifle, Tali locked a heat clip into her pistol a M-358 Talon she had liberated from a Cerberus Guardian a few months earlier and Jack pulsed with biotic energy.

Ashley unlocked the door and immediately raised her Avenger rifle to bring the scope to her right eye, there was no sign of any life and she entered the corridor. She stuck close to walls as she looked around poised to shoot any sign of husks... nothing, she signalled to the others 'No sign of anything Williams?' said Garrus as he joined her in the corridor 'No' she replied 'Tali Chiktikka telling you anything' she finished referring to the name Tali christened her combat drone 'No Ash other than a lack of power on this deck, I think main power is out'.

'Come on let's move, the bridge should be down this access corridor' said Ash tapping her omnitool which produced a three dimensional map that showed the Everest's layout for this deck. 'Right behind you Commander' assured Garrus as they marched towards the corridor in question.

They rapidly approached the access corridor and came across four glass panelled doors with the alliance symbol stetched onto it along with the word '**SSV Everest – Systems Alliance Navy, Secondary Bridge'** the doors detected Ashley's alliance ID and opened automatically a VI voice sounded 'Logged – Secondary bridge in use, welcome Lieutenant Commander'.

The room was very much like the CIC on the Normandy except that the CO's station was closer to the Pilot, Navigation and Tactical stations and no raised Dias just the Captain's chair in the centre of the room.

Ashley sat in the chair and touched the omni-displays on the right hand side of the chair that then expanded to show her readings for the ship 'Main power was cut by main CIC just before an evacuation was sounded... but no life boats have been launched' said Ashley puzzled 'Tali see if you can restore power, engineering station should be over there' pointed Ashley to a small alcove to her left.

Tali set to work, occasionally tapping commands on her wrist tool 'Ash there is nothing wrong with main power it's just been locked out to all decks apart from deck one, I can't unlock it though it seems to need command grade authorisation' reported Tali.

Ash looked up and pushed a button which brought up the interface for the virtual intelligence that helped govern the ship 'This is Commander Williams, Unlock power controls and restore main power to all decks' the interface was a bright small ball of orange light which pulsed in reply 'unable to comply, lockdown initiated by Executive officer Captain Tarik' it said in a feminine voice 'Override on my authority as an agent of the special tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the citadel council' ordered Ashley 'SPECTRE authority confirmed, power controls unlocked – logging you out Lieutenant Commander' reported the VI after taking a brief moment to check security records.

'Tali restore main power... Garrus transfer bridge functions here and see if you can restrict command functions to this room until further notice, I don't like how the XO locked down the power' snapped Ashley in response to the VI's statement. There was sudden hum as power was restored and all the consoles along with the lights in the room came back to their normal illumination, Garrus sat down on the main operations console tapping out some commands 'Bridge functions transferred and I think I have locked functions to this room, I think we have to consider that the XO might have been controlled by Harbinger or part of Cerberus Ashley' he reported.

'Agreed' said Ashley 'Run a full ladar scan internal and external so we can what's going on and have we got communication back up?' Ashley looked back at Tali to answer the latter 'No external access, hard to pinpoint why but I have managed to restore shortwave communications Ash'.

Ashley hit a button on her Omnitool 'Shepard, come in – radio is back' she called, a small screen displayed on her tool and she could make out the fuzzy image of Shepard still looking the worse for wear 'So I can see Ash – good work, any trouble getting there?' he asked. 'Hell of a climb but no resistance encountered on route, main power had been cut to all decks apart from the bridge on the authority of the ship's XO. I suspect something big is going down John but external radio access is still out – currently running a ladar sweep to see if I can see how many husks or survivors we are looking at' described Ashley.

'Good work Commander' said a new voice, the lower baritone of Admiral Hackett 'See if you can track down any survivors and if you can send the lift down so we can join you', 'Yes Sir' replied Ashley 'Williams out'.

Ashley leaned back in her chair trying to relieve the ache that was developing along her neck 'I could really use some good news now Garrus' she called over to the operations station. A dutiful beep sounded informing them that the LADAR scan had finished collating the result of the energy pings that could be converted into accurate reports of objects; Garrus looked over the report 'Most of the ship has gone dark Ashley, parts of the ship seem to be exposed to vacuum – I would surmise when the ship was taken the officers that were not part of the coup tried to vent the husk effected areas'.

Ashley let the information sink in, trying to picture the desperation of having no choice but to send innocents to their death 'Anywhere that was not affected Garrus?' she inquired with a sharp edge to her voice. Garrus looked up 'there are pockets throughout multiple decks where ladar scans still show human life signs mostly concentrated on the main flight deck, engine room and the backup medical centre. Deck one seems to have been left untouched, there are a mixture of husks and humans in the main CIC, they will work out what we have done soon enough' finished Garrus.

'Well then let's give them something to worry about…. Have we got control over all bridge functions Tali?' asked Ashley with an edge of steel sounding in her voice 'Yes Ash but I'm not sure how long we will have it' responded Tali. 'Secure this deck and send the lift for Shepard, get me a shipwide broadcast link as well' ordered Ashley, Tali nodded 'Deck doors secured, only way onto this deck is now via the lift which is on its way down to retrieve Captain Shepard and Admiral Hackett, internal defences still not online but managed to erect some barriers incase the doors are breached. Comm line open…. Now'.

Ashley took a deep breath 'To all Everest crewmembers this is Commander Williams of the Normandy… Cerberus sleeper agents have assumed command of this ship and have allowed Reaper forces on board. We have temporarily assumed command functions and I am now unlocking all escape pods and shuttles – please evacuate the ship and head for the nearest vessel it is likely that Cerberus have taken other alliance ships and we need to warn the rest of the fleet – Williams out'.

There was a hiss as the door snapped open, Ashley and Garrus quickly drew weapons and aimed at the newcomer 'Nice speech Ash' said Shepard who was followed in by Hackett, the biotic students and the two marine guards. Ashley lowered her rifle 'what can I say John I was trying to channel my inner Shepard' she said half mockingly whilst smiling; Shepard had a bit of a reputation for morale boosting speeches. 'Not nearly long enough Commander' said Hackett joining in on the good natured teasing 'What is this pick on the recuperating soldier day' said Shepard with a quick grin 'Just a bit of brevity Captain' explained Hackett.

'Hey… someone on the horn…. Coming from engineering section' said Jack talking loudly over everyone else, there was a crackle coming from the intercom before a familiar voice said 'Williams you there?' Shepard strolled over to the console 'James it's Shepard, status report!'. 'Holed up in engineering went to debriefing then headed back to shuttle when lift went haywire and dropped to bottom deck. When we came too saw husks hitting us from all sides, hooked up with some marines and engineer crew... we've been here ever since trying to survive Loco' reported Vega.

'Any other Normandy crew with you James?' asked Shepard, 'I have Traynor, Joker and Esteban with me but Joker has fractured something possibly his hip on the lift crash and under pain meds, Esteban is suffering from concussion but other than that seems ok... Traynor is with one of the engineers trying to get external communications back up but she thinks the main antennae has been disabled and something is blocking all tightbeam transmissions' Vega said filling in Shepard on what had happened to his team.

'Are all of you safe at the moment Lieutenant?' asked Hackett, 'yes sir, lots of husks but not a lot else – creative use of barricades and turrets have turned the two main access routes into a kill zone and we are holding them at bay for now, not sure what they are after but they seem to interested in getting access to the primary maintenance hatches' Vega said to the Admiral.

Shepard looked over to Ashley and said in a low whisper as Hackett talked to Vega 'What could they want in the maintenance tubes? They already have the bridge and have taken out comms', Ashley pushed a few controls on the captain's console which brought up the ship schematics onto her omni-tool 'The tubes lead to the eezo cores but they are already cold as we are running on fusion power as the eezo was extracted and is being used to power the base on Luna but look at this' Ashley said pointing to a small tube that lead off the main maintenance route 'It would be tight but this leads to the main gun – its currently powered down as only the commanding officer or flag rank officer can authorise the VI to fire it but it could be possible to manually fire it if they jury rig it from the weapon maintenance console here' Ashley advised.

Shepard looked up 'Tali, Garrus – look at this' he called over Tali and Garrus and updated them on his and Ashley's theory 'It's possible but husks are rudimentary creatures not capable of the coherent thought to be able to do this, they must just be there to make a breach and then something else will fire the gun' Tali said adding her thoughts into the hypothesis 'Clever bastards Shepard but who will they target with the gun, we are in a low orbit the only thing they could hope to hit would be the citadel or the Ascension unless one of the Quarian liveships or Turian patrol ships have moved to patrol the new citadel orbit' finished Garrus.

There was a beep from the communications console, Ashley looked at it 'Communiqué from the bridge Skipper, Captain Tarik requesting to speak to senior officer' Hackett looked up 'Vega keep those husks at bay and tell Specialist Traynor restoring communications is top priority, Hackett out' Hackett walked over to the communication console and pressed a button – a hazy display showed a middle aged male officer with dark skin tones wearing the uniform of an alliance captain 'Admiral Hackett sir, the reports said you were dead' came the crisp tones in a slight Indian dialect of Captain Tarik, the Executive officer of the Everest 'Mo, what the hell are you playing at!' retorted Hackett.

'Making sure Humanity takes its place at the head of the table not becoming the playthings of the Asari and Turians' Tarik spat out 'Your an old alien loving fool... you served your purpose in united the alliance behind the reaper threat but your time is now at a end, we control the reaper forces thanks to Human Cerberus ingenuity. We now have an opportunity to take out the armed forces of the other races. We will take the citadel for ourselves...'.

'No Captain you're the fool, Earth suffered yes but so did Palaven, Thessia, Dekuuna... do I need to go on? We beat the reapers by combining the resources of the citadel races and together we will restore peace and something new will be forged from this war... stand down your husks Mohammed and I will ensure that you are treated to a fair trial' shouted Hackett.

'I don't think so Admiral... I am in control here; very soon I will gain full control of the main gun and start a little mini war. The Turians will retaliate and the alliance with its greater numbers will rise up against the turian 'treachery' and obliterate the alien fleets, Cerberus's vision will come to fruition at long last'.

'Did you not see what happened to Garrett Tarik?' said Shepard 'possessed by a reaper that survived all of you that had that implant can be controlled by Harbinger... you are not fighting for humanity you are being manipulated into destroying the alliance that has come within a cusp of destroying the reapers once and for all'.

Tarik's face turned into a sneer 'Shepard… the alien's little lapdog… Humanity's so called best, I saw nothing about any reapers but I was watching the admiral's life signs on the monitor as you and your lackeys killed her for doing nothing but trying to wretch control from the alien lovers and back to the Humans'.

'This is the way to do it is it Tarik?' replied Shepard his tone hardening due to the pro human rhetoric being uttered by the semi delusional captain 'Everything I have ever done since becoming a Spectre was to humanity's benefit… taking down Saren and Sovereign led to the alliance becoming a citadel council member over the heads of a lot of races more ancient and advanced than ours'. 'At the cost of how many human lives Shepard?' countered Tarik 'How many ships did we sacrifice to save the council and the asari flagship' Tarik spat out 'No Shepard… this is our time…. We will drive these aliens out…. Take their technology for our own and with the citadel in human control we will ensure humanity is the dominant force in the galaxy'.

Tarik continued speaking 'Your too late Shepard, when this ship fires its main mass accelerator cannon, it will signal our officers to take control of their ships and be ready for the turian/asari counter attack but your time is at an end…. Cerberus thanks you for your service as we freely admit we could have never taken the collectors on without you but the illusive man should have known you would never truly embrace our ideals…. Goodbye Shepard, Admiral Hackett' Tarik signed off with a salute.

'Shepard!' came an exclamation over the radio, it was Vega 'Mass Effect cores just came online…. They rushed us and I have engineers' dead, I think they might have remote control over engineering. Drive cores are online and mass effect shells have started forming in the accelerator ammo ports'.

'Lieutenant, are you able to move Joker and are you anywhere near an airlock?' asked Shepard an idea forming his head, he looked over to Hackett who nodded latching onto Shepard's thinking. 'Yes sir I think so on both accounts but the flight lieutenant is pretty doped up on pain killer meds, what did you have in mind?'

'Prep for zero G, I want you to head for the airlock and get to one of the drop shuttles on the port bay… I'm about to vent the ship whilst we still have some control' ordered Shepard. 'Commander… I mean Captain there are still alliance personal on the ship' said the protesting voice of Specialist Traynor over the radio 'Traynor… I have husks all over the ship, Cerberus operatives in control of the cic and are about to use the main cannon to start a massacre in the name of humanity. I have two choices overload the drive cores to destroy the ship which will take out most of our infrastructure on the moon as well as any support craft in orbit or I vent the ship to atmosphere which will kill anyone not prepped but the ship will be salvageable'.

Shepard paused to take a look around the room, Ashley squeezed his arm to show she supported him and put her helmet back on 'Ready when you are Shepard' said Garrus as he hit a control on his armour and a helmet extended from his back armour. 'Get it done Captain' ordered Hackett as he put on his helmet, the rest of the personal present followed suite.

'Traynor, I don't like it any more than you but I suggest if you are in contact with anyone on the ship to advise them to prep for zero G conditions and head to the nearest escape pod or shuttle as I am about the vent the ship to vacuum' commanded Shepard, there was a pause 'Yes Sir… we are heading for the airlock now, will radio when we find some transport'.

Shepard picked up his helmet, looking at the blood stripe red marking next to the N7 insignia; it was very apt today 'Everest access life support controls and vent the atmosphere across all decks' Shepard said addressing the VI of the ship 'Warning safety protocols prohibit such action' the virtual intelligence informed them 'Overide on my authority' said Hackett 'Logged commanding officer of the fleet deactivating safety protocols… life support disabled, barriers to vacuum disabled, gravity will deactivate momentarily, venting atmosphere in t-minus 10 seconds'.

'Activate mag boots' Shepard instructed, there was a swooshing sound as the magnetic mechanism in his armour boots activated and locked him to the floor, the barrier above the cockpit disabled and the glass sheet started to withdraw. There was rush of sound and air sweeping by them as it escaped into the nether and then there was nothing no sound as the entire room was exposed to the vacuity of space.

'Everyone ok?' came the voice of Ashley Williams who was leaning against the main bulkhead 'Feels like the morning after shore leave' muttered Garrus who had been knocked against a few consoles his voice had a slight metallic sound to it distorted by the need to communicate via radio 'I think we'll live Commander' said Hackett with a slight groan 'been a few years since I done zero gravity'.

'Was only a month or so ago for me' Shepard said with a trivial grunt as he staggered into standing position, 'Was it worth it?' asked Jack. Tali linked her suit to the bridge controls 'The whole ship was vented, no life signs on the bridge or much elsewhere but the vent has taken out some parts of internal sensors, I can confirm that the main gun has gone cold again'.

'Door seems sealed tight Tali?' Garrus said trying to activate the main entrance 'Standard alliance ship protocol' Ashley explained 'In a controlled ship vent, all bulkhead doors seal to allow the ship to be repressurised one section at a time'.

'Which means the way out of this room is..' asked Garrus 'is through their Garrus' Shepard finished pointing to the gaping hole in the cockpit where the barriers had dropped. Garrus looked up and turned to Shepard with a withering look 'I suggest we retire to a sun soaked beach and instead we are treading in zero G on the outside of an alliance dreadnaught?'.

'Aren't you having fun Garrus... we could hit omega and find a nice turian plague to infect you again or an army of collectors for us to fight through' teased Tali, Shepard grinned 'come on Garrus chin up, this will be just like..' 'Old times' came the chorus from Ashley, Jack, Tali and Shepard.

Garrus looked across at them in mock exasperation and walked over to the cockpit opening 'Ha, I think I need a new catchphrase then' he uttered as he disengaged the mag lock and floated up towards the gap in the hull 'Don't forget to calibrate your boots Vakarian' mocked Jack as Garrus floated up and landed on the outside hull 'Low blow Jack' said Garrus over the radio good naturedly.

Tali, Hackett, Jack and her team followed Garrus up, Ashley checked her rifle and ejected another heat clip 'You next skipper' she motioned towards the chasm above them. Shepard winced but as he was in full armour was not visible, the vent had disabled his leg brace and tendrils of pain were being experienced as he moved into position.

There was a click as the radio channel on Shepard's helmet went from the team broadcast to a private channel 'You're in pain' stated Ashley 'Never could hide things that well could I?' Shepard said with another slight grunt as he attempted to unlock his mag locks. 'Not from me' Ashley said as she bent down and hit the control Shepard had been reaching for and put an arm around to steady him, Shepard was unable to put any weight on his leg.

'There is no way you can trek across the hull like this, I take it the brace is busted' Ashley said in her normal blunt manner 'Yeah think the venting knocked it, the capacitor does not seem to be charging' replied Shepard 'I'll be fine, dial down the magnetic field to 40% and I should be ok Ash' Shepard said. 'Don't suppose we have much of a choice do we' Ashley said obviously not completely happy as she bent down again and amended the magnetic lock as requested 'you worrying about me again?' Shepard said as the pressure eased off his leg taking advantage of the weightless environment, Ashley stood up 'The career soldier part of me knows you're an N7 marine despite your injuries and you have come through worse but there is another part of me that is your girlfriend...man I hate that word doesn't seem to do justice but that part of me is scared your pushing yourself too hard... I don't want to lose you again John'.

Shepard reached out for her hand 'and you won't Ash... after all this is done well let's just say my galaxy saving days are behind me and I want to concentrate on what's important in my life and that's you but let's talk about this later' Ashley grasped his hand back 'I feel the same and yeah neither the time or place but we will finish this later marine' 'Count on it LC... but come on before Garrus starts getting snarky'.

They both disengaged their mag boots and rose through the rift; Shepard looked around as he hit the controls to lock him back to the hull. The stars were shining above him, the sun just shining its rays over the moon that in turn cast a silhouette over the Everest as they started their march towards the nearest shuttlepod.

'Shepard you there?' said a voice over the radio, 'James you all ok?' replied Shepard recognising the voice of James Vega 'Sure did Loco – managed to find a Kodiak, stay where you are we are en-route, We found some stragglers in escape pods but homing in on your radio signal now... I think'.

'You're not inspiring confidence James' Garrus commented dryly 'Come on now Garrus, don't be hating because I am saving your ass' came the retort from Vega. There was an additional shadow being cast over the ship as a Kodiak drop shuttle came down flying low... too low the shuttle scrapped against the hull, Ashley winced 'Oh God who is piloting that crate' she asked to no-one in particular but Shepard answered anyway 'I think we both know the answer to that Ash and it's not Cortez or Joker'.

The shuttle came to a shaky stop a few yards in front of them, there was a gasp of escaping air as the door slid aside 'Come on let's get going, everyone on board' said a voice over the radio which seemed to belong to an officer dressed in the standard armour of a flight lieutenant.

They all climbed aboard, the door slid behind them as the last marine boarded. A red lamp lit up to show that door was now sealed and room was pressurising, the lamp then turned green as the pressurisation procedure completed.

The officer who opened the door took off his helmet to show the face of Steve Cortez, he walked over to the boarders with a slight limp and saluted as Hackett removed his helmet 'Lieutenant Cortez sir – SSV Normandy' Hackett returned the salute 'As you were Cortez, have you injured yourself?' noticing the limp 'Nothing too serious sir some husks seemed to like me, pain meds mean I can't pilot the shuttle however'.

Shepard stood up and removed his helmet, he clapped Cortez on the shoulder 'Good to see you in one piece Steve, where's the others? 'Cortez gave him a weak smile 'Through their Shepard... glad you're here Lt Moreau is getting a little... Tetchy' he said diplomatically.

Shepard shook his head and opened the door to the inner cabin 'Shepard!' exclaimed Joker as he walked in, Lieutenant Jeff Moreau normally referred to as Joker was lying on the floor with two of his legs in a splint and what looked like a spinal board Dr Chakwas was attending him and administering some kind of drug intravenously. 'Someone, anyone take over the controls he flies like a drunken bull' Joker motioned towards the pilot station where James Vega was piloting.

'Come on Man it wasn't that bad' protested Vega, 'James you have hit the Everest twice, you are responsible for fracturing my other leg and the last shuttle you flew before this you flew into another shuttle... for the love of god will someone please fly this shuttle other than Vega' said Joker.

'Calm down Jeff' said the soothing tone of Dr Chakwas as she increased the flow of pain killers 'settle down Lieutenant' said the gruff voice of Hackett who had appeared in the doorway, he addressed Vega 'Up you get Lieutenant I will take the helm'.

Vega looked up 'Sir? Um are you um qualfi... I mean rated for um' Hackett looked at him 'Son I spent half of my career flying shuttles or fighters until the day my reflexes gave out and I was shunted into the bridge of a starship, now up you get'.

Vega vacated his station; Shepard looked at him 'You did good James' as he tapped him on the shoulder. Shepard sat in the navigator seat next to Hackett 'Hope we are not too late... Tarik did say they were waiting for a signal from Everest' he said quietly to his superior officer 'We will soon find out Captain, we will head out of the dark side of the moon and out of range of whatever blocker they were using to stop ship to ship communication'.

Shepard felt the approach of Ashley behind him 'Ash, get Sam on the radio I want to know the minute we are able to make contact with the fleet' Ashley nodded 'You got it skipper', she turned back to the hold 'Traynor take the comm station, see if you can get through the block we are going to head away from the Everest' 'Yes Commander' came the reply from the communications specialist.

'You know Shepard... I think this is the first time I have abandoned a ship like this' commented Hackett as he veered away from the Everest 'she is salvageable sir, the last time I abandoned ship she blew up and I died' mentioned Shepard. Hackett gave a short laugh 'That's putting it in perspective Captain' he said as his hands deftly moved across the controls 'You've done that before I see Sir' replied Shepard 'Once or twice Shepard... I started my career flying alliance transports and then shuttles before I fell into the Trident program' returned Hackett 'Took the fighter jock route to command sir? A dying breed these days' commented Shepard. 'Yes it is, most command grade officers now come via the marine corps these days... not that there is anything wrong with that yourself and Commander Williams have both proven that as well as Anderson'.

The shuttle moved out from the dark side of the moon as Hackett banked the Kodiak to port, Shepard looked up to see his home planet in the distance before it disappeared from view as the shuttle changed direction again heading away from Earth and to where the rest of the alliance fleet was positioned nestled in between the Geth and Quarian fleets just outside of Mars orbit. Whilst Shepard vouched for the geth the rest of Humanity still remembered Eden Prime and the human element of sword fleet was positioned where they could keep an eye on the artificial intelligences from Rannoch.

They had travelled far enough towards Mars to get a visual on the human fleet 'Starting to get comm chatter on alliance channels Admiral' called out Traynor in her oxford accented voice 'Good work Specialist' Hackett said, he turned to Shepard and murmured quietly 'Some of those frigates are slightly out of formation' 'yeah they are' Shepard agreed 'Mass effect cores look powered up' he continued glancing at the navigation panel 'They could turn and have a weapon lock very quickly if they are under Cerberus control' Shepard turned to Traynor 'Can you get me a tightbeam transmission to the Normandy without being detected?'.

'Encryption applied, connection established Captain' replied Traynor signalling to Shepard with her thumb up 'Normandy this is Shepard' there was a burst of static... 'Samantha can you clear this up' asked Shepard. Traynor started pressing buttons 'We are being jammed again... attempting to cut through it' there was a pause 'Got it but not sure how long'. Shepard opened the comm again 'EDI, Adams you there?' he barked 'Shepard, I am reading you but barely' said the synthesised voice of EDI 'Normandy is on lockdown Shepard on Admiral Wearne's orders, there is a blanket ban on all ship communication throughout the fleet but there have been a lot of ship traffic between certain ships, Engineer Adams was relieved of duty again on Wearne's orders'.

'Can you overide the lockdown' asked Shepard already knowing the answer 'Of course Shepard' came the expected response 'Do it, engage stealth drive and tell Adams to get back to his post... Cerberus are making a move and I don't want to get stuck on this tincan if it comes down to a firefight so get here asap' ordered Shepard. 'Lockdown overridden, bringing Tantalus core online, engaging stealth systems... locked onto your location Shepard ETA 3 minutes' EDI replied.

'Admiral Wearne, he was one of the admirals on the defence committee wasn't he?' asked Shepard looking at Hackett who nodded 'Admiral Thomas Wearne he was part of the defence committee and was assumed lost when the reapers hit HQ as only you and Anderson walked out of that meeting but he was found leading the resistance cells in Munich'.

'He was running scared before the reapers hit Earth and were taking out the colonies, a prime candidate for Cerberus to recruit' surmised Shepard 'Yes... he was well thought off by the German, French and Polish alliance resistance forces and seemed an ideal candidate to pick up the forces buffering the Geth but there is no way they have more than a handful of officers, I handpicked most of the command staff across the fleet following the disaster at Arcturus'.

'I think we have been spotted Shepard' piped up Traynor 'Frigate has turned on active sensors and Tridents have launched'.

'Open channel now Specialist' ordered Hackett, Traynor nodded and opened a communication channel 'This is Admiral Hackett to approaching fighter group, stand down we are carrying wounded and we are unarmed' there was no answer but static. 'We are being blocked again Sir, the last time I saw jamming like this was on Sanctuary' mentioned Traynor 'I will try and get through it but I don't think the radio equipment on here is powerful enough to break it'.

There was a lurch as Hackett took evasive actions as the fighter craft flew overhead 'They have weapons lock' shouted Traynor in a panicked voice 'Deploying countermeasures' stated Shepard calmly deploying decoy missiles to lead away and torpedoes that the fighters would launch. 'Taking evasive manoeuvres – everyone hang on' Hacker said in a slightly raised voice but still irradiating confidence and experience.

The Trident class fighters flew overhead looking to make another pass before they suddenly veered off. A large shadow started to appear and partially blocked out the light from the sun reflecting off the hull and they saw why the fighters banked away sharply, the cavalry had arrived – SSV Normandy SR2 an modified variant of the Normandy class Stealth Frigate. The Normandy's unique stealth drive had allowed to manoeuvre into a standing position between the enemy frigate and the Kodiak shuttle, the stealth drive did not make them invisible however and the trident pilots had noted her arrival and moved back towards the safety of their mothership.

Shepard's omnitool flashed as a familiar circle ball appeared EDI's avatar 'Opening docking hatch – med bay prepped for arrivals Shepard'.

'Taking us in' said Hackett, heading underneath the Normandy and then upwards into the descending main docking bay door. The teal shuttle came into the Normandy on a tight angle as the docking bay slid shut behind them; Hackett brought the Kodiak to a halt and powered down the engines.

The door slid open as Shepard walked out 'Garrus get to main battery – I want the main gun ready to fire ASAP. Tali engine room, Chakwas I need Cortez patched up and at the helm asap as I take it Joker will not be flight ready'.

'On our way Shepard' said Garrus as himself and Tali moved towards the elevator, 'I should have Cortez ready for duty as soon as I get the pain medication changed Shepard, count Joker out of this one however' Chakwas said then ordering crewmembers to help get a spinal board and transport to get Joker to the medical bay. 'Rest of you to your posts' said Shepard as he started limped towards the Combat Information Centre.

The elevator snapped open, Cortez walked out and moved quickly to the helmsman post 'I have the ball EDI but I'm a little rusty on starship piloting so feel free to nudge me when needed' he said to the AI.

Ashley walked over to the officer on watch post toward the bottom dais as Shepard took up the CO station, Ashley's fingers hit buttons on the controls 'Frigate is attempting to get active lock on us, Sound action stations' she ordered assuming the XO role in the lack of anyone else being qualified to do the job. 'Raise Barriers, go active sensors, stand by point defences' ordered Shepard as soon as Ashley started the ball rolling with getting the ship prepped for combat.

Hackett walked towards Shepard and then addressed Traynor 'Can you break through the jamming now Specialist', 'Already done sir with EDI's help' replied Traynor. Shepard addressed the communication pod and said to Traynor 'Sam broadcast this fleetwide' 'Channel open Captain' Traynor replied.

'This is Captain Shepard of the Normandy to alliance frigate approaching, you are attempting to get a weapon lock on us – clarify your intentions or it might have escaped your attention that the Normandy is an alliance vessel' Shepard stated boldly as he continued 'Or could it be that you are under Cerberus control, we have stopped your little coup attempt on the Everest – there will be no war today I'm afraid'.

Hackett nodded towards Shepard 'This is Hackett, Shepard is speaking the truth. Cerberus had moles planted in some of our senior officers namely the ones we left on Earth when the reapers first attacked and they attempted to take control of the Everest and start a war to wipe out our allies. They failed but at a cost, most of the crew on the Everest was turned into Cerberus controlled husks and is now adrift.

Hackett paused letting the information sink in 'I am calling on all alliance vessels, this is Admiral Stephen Hackett supreme commander of the alliance fleet and acting chief of state for the Earth Systems Alliance you are ordered to resume your assigned patrols and stand down all weapons, if your Commanding officer disregards this then I am authorising the Executive officers to place them under arrest and assume command – Hackett out'.

Shepard looked at Traynor 'Talk to me Sam' 'We have alliance ships asking for our status and affirming that they have not left their stations. Seven frigates and eleven cruisers are out of position but have come to a full stop and one dreadnaught the SSV Fuji ; I have Asari, Turian and Quarian forces asking do we require any assistance sir'.

'Thank them for their enquiry but tell them we have the situation in hand and they will be debriefed by myself as soon as possible Specialist' replied Hackett. 'They have a weapon lock now Shepard' warned Ashley 'Returning the favour, Garrus you got a firing solution' Ashley continued speaking over the intercom 'I have a weapon lock and optimal firing solution on the thannix cannon is acquired Williams' replied Garrus.

'ID confirmed on the Frigate – SSV Trafalgar, its Captain was KIA under sword fleet, currently commanded by a First Lieutenant Saul Grima' EDI chimed in 'Reopen the channel' Shepard ordered 'Lieutenant Grima this is an order from an superior officer – stand down now, Normandy has twice the firepower you have and is equipped with a Thannix Cannon, this is your last chance or I will open fire'.

There was a burst of static again before a voice sounded 'Normandy stand down this is Engineer Coltly, myself and some of the officers have arrested Grima and some other bridge crew, we are powering down the defence grid... please hold your fire'.

Shepard looked across to Ashley who nodded 'weapon lock has dropped, their sensors have gone passive and Guardian lasers are offline skipper', 'Return the favour Ash but keep point defences online' Shepard said quietly Ashley nodded again and carried out the order.

'Incoming transmission from the Fuji sir for Admiral Hackett' mentioned Traynor 'Put it through' ordered Hackett. 'Sir this is Major Singh, I had placed Admiral Wearne under arrest and assumed command as per your order sir when he refused to return to station but he activated some kind of implant and well he seemed to change... into well something else it didn't sound human'.

'Let me stop you there Major, an yellow explosion and he displayed biotic powers' Hackett asked, 'yes sir, myself and the other marines gunned him down – he left us no choice' Singh replied.

'Major, I want to make this clear you are to discuss this with no-one else – I will come to the Fuji and assume command, make sure you and your marines report to me the minute I arrive – Hackett out'.

Hackett turned to Shepard 'I'm heading to the Fuji, I need a contingent of your marines to accompany me until I know who we can trust again. Get in touch with Admiral Shepard and ask her to secure the Everest, I will get coordinate from the Fuji and begin a fleetwide screening of all command officers for any unnecessary implants'.

'Yes Sir' said Shepard saluting the Admiral 'Once we have finished the screening and I have debriefed our allies make your way to the Citadel as per your original assignment Captain' said Hackett as he left the CIC. Shepard looked over to Ashley 'LC – go down below and pick some marines to accompany the Admiral' Ashley saluted 'Yes Captain'.

'Open a channel to the Orizaba' called Shepard as Ashley left the CIC and joined the Admiral in the elevator.

Some many hours later... on the observation deck of the Normandy.

Shepard was standing by the main viewing window in his hand was a flimsipad containing the casualty reports from the infighting between alliance forces, not all of the Cerberus officers had surrendered peacefully and the ones that did had Harbinger taking control. It was going to be hard to keep a lid on this disaster he thought but mostly the thought on his mind was how many people had died on the Everest when he vented the ship, there were so many people unaccounted for.

They had started screening officers but the disclosure to the other races on how close they had come to a war and possible extinction had created some tension and Shepard was needed to head to the Citadel to try and calm things down, Normandy was scheduled to depart in the morning.

There was a swishing sound as the door opened and then closed 'Hey you ok?' said a voice as Shepard felt a hand entwining with his, Shepard smiled weakly and turned around to face Ashley 'I've had better days Ash' as he kissed her lightly on her mouth. Ashley let go of his hand and sat down on the sofa inviting Shepard to do the same, Shepard sat down next to her and for a few minutes they said nothing just staring at the stars as Ashley's head lightly rested on Shepard's shoulder.

'So...' Ashley said 'you need the pep talk about how you made the right call?' Shepard didn't say anything just gently squeezed her hand. Ashley continued talking 'It was not your fault John, blame Cerberus, blame the reaper... blame anyone but yourself. No-one else would have got us out of there alive and we managed to avert a civil war... That's good going if you ask me'.

Shepard replied 'On some level I know that, it's just I think I'm tired of all of this... Been fighting for so long not sure who I am anymore'. Ashley lifted her head up to look at him 'your still the same man I fell in love with Shepard... strong, passionate man, you care about people and most of all still with a great ass... I love you'

Shepard turned to look at Ashley 'You always know the right things to say for someone who claims she is not a word person... I love you too' Ashley smiled and pulled him closer 'Shut up and kiss me'.


End file.
